Mancos house burns twice in 24-hour period

Mancos house burns twice in 24-hour period

Mar. 7, 2001

ARSON INVESTIGATORS examine the rubble of a Mancos home after it burned twice in two days. Kneeling with back to camera is Hugh Richards, Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office, assisted by Martha Robinson, Cortez Police Department.

By Tom Vaughan
Mancos Times Editor

A small residence at 326 Aztec St., on the corner of Aztec and Montezuma in Mancos, was gutted by fire early Tuesday morning, then nearly leveled when the same structure was engulfed in flames less than 24 hours later.

Firefighters and Mancos Marshal Brandon Brown responded to a 911 call just before 5 a.m. Tuesday. On arrival, Brown said, smoke was visible, but no flames.

Mancos Fire Chief Lyle Cox described his firefighters as "pushing heavy smoke" to find the source of the smoldering fire. The Tuesday-morning blaze apparently originated in wiring near a water heater in the center of the building, he said. Detective Hugh Richards, arson investigator for the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office, was called in by Cox to confirm his assessment.

The home, which belongs to Clyde Holder, was unoccupied at the time. The current resident, Tracy Bailey-Simmons (Holder’s daughter), is only there periodically, according to Brown.

The fire was out by 8 a.m., Cox said. The walls and windows were left largely intact, but extensive fire damage was done to the interior, as well to the roof, where holes were made during firefighting efforts.

Mancos Building Inspector Mel Heath viewed the residence Tuesday and condemned the building as unsafe for occupancy.

The fire appeared to be out during the day, and Cox said he "checked on it at 10:30 (p.m.) and everything was OK."

But at 2 a.m. Wednesday, the fire department was called back to the same address. When crews arrived, Cox reported, the house was "fully involved," with "raging, flaming fire" all over the standing remains of the house. This time, he says, "We drowned the damn thing!" Suppression was completed about 5 a.m.

During the suppression effort Wednesday, Brown said, he heard questions raised among firefighters as to the origin of the second fire. He called Richards, who returned with Martha Robinson of the Cortez Police Department to conduct an arson investigation. The results of the investigation were not known at press time.

Heath said he will condemn the building again — his signs burned up in the second fire.