ATF joins probe of blaze that consumed Glendale construction site

Linsette Hawkins walks back to her apartment near Kentucky Avenue and Dexter Street, where more than 100 windows are set to be replaced as a result of damage from a nearby blaze. (AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)

GLENDALE Federal agents are aiding in the investigation of a weekend blaze that burned so hot that it leveled an apartment building that was under construction and melted vehicles parked across the street.

The Denver Fire Department, which provides service to Glendale, where the fire broke out late Saturday night, asked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to help in the investigation, Denver Fire Department Division Chief Joseph Gonzales said.

Glendale, which is surrounded by the city of Denver, is in Arapahoe County, and Denver Fire doesn't have the power to issue warrants and make arrests if investigators determine the blaze was caused by arson, Gonzales said.

"We don't know if it is arson," Gonzales said, "but we start every investigation to eliminate arson as a cause."

ATF's National Response Team is working with the Denver Fire Department, Glendale Police and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

No one was injured in the fire which started just after 11 p.m. Saturday at 801 S. Cherry St.

The fire radiated so much heat that it melted headlights, mirrors and body panels on vehicles parked at the Crescent at Cherry Creek apartment complex across the street. The fire melted blinds inside apartments at the Crescent.

"It radiated a tremendous amount of heat," Gonzales said. "It was in the framing stage so it was just like a pile of kindling wood and it just went up in flame."

The three-alarm blaze caused an estimated $12 million dollars in damage, according to an ATF press release.

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ATF joins probe of blaze that consumed Glendale construction site