Two people are dead after a three-alarm fire erupted at a construction site near downtown Denver on March 7. The mid-day fire, which destroyed a partially completed apartment building and burned hot enough to damage at least 40 cars in the area, forced construction workers to leap to safety from second and third floors.

一些工人跳跃时受伤。其他人受伤试图抓住他们。公共安全官员说，至少有六人受伤，其中一名是一名消防员，他的手和脸上烧伤。他在医院接受治疗并被释放。

大火爆发时，将近50名建筑工人在现场。有些人试图扑灭大火本身，但没有成功。

消防官员尚未确定被杀的人，并说对火原因的调查可能需要花费一段时间，可能是几周。该地区的人们报告说，随着大火的开始，聆听至少两秒钟的爆炸声。

丹佛消防队长格雷格·皮克斯利（Greg Pixley）在3月7日的新闻发布会上说，由于现场暴露的材料，大火迅速蔓延。他在现场告诉记者：“这座建筑物没有任何保护木材。”他指出，官员们没有立即迹象表明与城市建筑法规的偏差或允许在现场违反。对本周早些时候进行的电气系统的进度检查表明，它没有问题。

The fire occurred at the Emerson Place Apartments on East 18th Avenue in Denver’s Uptown neighborhood, near the city’s hospital district. The five-story, 84-unit complex, estimated construction cost of $15 million, featured all studio apartments. The developer is Allante Properties, Greenwood Village, Colo., and the contractor is Vertix Builders, Frederick, Colo. Neither company could be reached for comment.

The project was scheduled for completion this summer.

This story was updated on March 9 after public safety officials confirmed the death of a second person at the site.