Arson Fire At Washington Self Storage Facility

Last week a four-alarm fire ignited at Auburn Way Self Storage, causing serious damage to the self storage facility.  In an interesting turn of events, fire officials have determined that the official cause of the fire was arson. Someone intentionally set flame to the facility, however officials refused to comment further on the methods used or the specific source of the fire due to the ongoing investigation. Currently, no suspects are in custody. 

The fire burned between 70 and 80 storage units. Many of the units were damaged instead of destroyed entirely, however only 20 of the units that ignited were vacant. Luckily the fire was contained to only one of 11 buildings at the self storage facility, but unfortunately the building was constructed before sprinkler code requirements, so it was not equipped with sprinklers. Currently no financial estimate for the overall damage done has been released.

The lack of sprinklers meant that the blaze was out of control and dangerous by the time fire crews arrived on the scene. Initially, firefights attempted to put the fire out by hacking and breaking into each individual public storage unit, but that soon proved fruitless as the inferno escalated from one to three alarms. Eventually a fourth alarm was added on due to the need to rotate fire crews, as firefighter battled the blaze at the storage units for over nine hours. Firefighters and personal from seven jurisdictions helped eradicate the fire, accompanied by 11 fire engines and three ladder trucks.  Thankfully, only one minor injury to crewmembers was reported.

This unfortunate turn of events should remind public storage renters everywhere to always purchase fire insurance when investing in storage units.  In addition, it is important to always inquire as to what type of security and property protection services the self storage facility is outfitted with. Fires should not be the only concern for public storage owners either, theft, water damage, and vandalism are common occurrences at ill-protected storage facilities.

Here at Chelton Self Storage we care about your security. Not only do we offer some of the best prices in Colorado Springs, we provide every storage unit owner with a free lock upon move in. We are sure to outfit our facilities with top of the line protection and the latest security accessories to put you at ease about your personal belongings. The best part about all of this? Chelton is a locally owned family business that wants to provide the best service possible to the Colorado community. If you are in need of Colorado Springs storage, contact us today!