Pueblo fire agencies battle barn, motor home blazes, make water rescue
A barn fire west of Pueblo was contained and extinguished Tuesday afternoon, according to the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office.
The sheriff's office responded after receiving a call at 4:45 p.m., said spokesperson Gayle Perez. The fire occurred In an area near the Nature & Wildlife Discovery Center outside of Pueblo City limits.
Smoke was visible for miles, according to the sheriff's office.
There were no reports of injuries and no other structures were threatened. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
There was a flareup about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, said Perez, which crews were able to extinguish. The fire was being monitored Wednesday.
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Meanwhile, the Pueblo Fire Department extinguished a burning motor home north of University Park. The fire, which created a column of thick, black smoke, burned fast and hot, according to Capt. Woody Percival of the Pueblo Fire Department. The crews of two engine companies extinguished the fire by 8:15 a.m. Wednesday before entering the 35-foot motorhome. No one was found inside the vehicle.
Drug paraphernalia was allegedly found inside the vehicle, leading the fire department to turn over the scene to Pueblo police, said Percival.
The speed and ferocity of the blaze made it impossible to determine a cause, Percival said. "Especially in a trailer, RV, things like that, they burn so hot and so fast, it makes it impossible to do an investigation," he said.
Much earlier Wednesday, fire department personnel made a water rescue of a fisherman who fell into the Arkansas River near Whitewater Park after apparently losing his footing while night fishing. The fire department received a call at 3:01 a.m. and were dispatched at 3:02, said Percival. A two-man team in a truck, known as a "focus response unit," found the fisherman and threw a rope to him, which he was able to get around his waist, and the two-person unit was able to pull him out of the water.
The fisherman was taken to a local hospital and treated for potential hypothermia. Percival said that seven minutes elapsed between the time the department received a call about the situation and the time the man was rescued.
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This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo fire agencies battle barn, motor home blazes, make water rescue
