The Rocky Mountain Collegian

Issue date: 1/19/07 Section: News

A firefighter climbs down a ladder surrounded by ice at the scene of a burned apartment building in Colorado Springs, Colo., Thursday, Jan. 18, 2007. Firefighters continued searching through the still smoldering remains of the three-story apartment complex where two bodies have been found and a number of people are still not accounted for. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

COLORADO SPRINGS - A day after finding two bodies in the ashes of an apartment complex, firefighters entered the most heavily damaged section of the building on Thursday to look for any other victims.

Asked whether he expected to find more bodies, Fire Marshal Brett Lacey said, "I'm not confident one way or the other."

The cause of the fire was still unknown, but investigators say it appeared to be arson. Authorities said 36-year-old Gene Johnson was being held without bail on suspicion of first-degree murder.

The bodies of the two known victims remained in the structure Thursday. Lacey said they had not been identified.

The fire broke out early Tuesday in the three-story, 135-unit complex, forcing some pajama-clad residents to leap from balconies. Firefighters plucked 62 people from windows.

Hospitals said they treated 31 people, including a firefighter who slipped on ice. Residents' injuries included broken bones and sprained ankles from jumping and hypothermia from standing in 8-degree temperatures in their bed clothes.

There was no clear indication whether anyone else was missing because the manager's list of tenants burned in the fire.

Lacey said investigators were trying to determine whether the complex had any fire code violations before the blaze. He said the building had no sprinkler system but its windows were designed to make it easy to escape.

John Hass, 26, said he and others in a third-floor apartment had no trouble crawling out the window.

"We tried to go out the front door, but it was too hot," Hass said. "There were ledges that were 3 feet long, so there was plenty of room to stand."

He said they climbed down after firefighters brought a ladder.

Steven Travis, 21, surveyed the wreckage Thursday, the day he had planned to move into an apartment there. A burned bicycle and barbecue grill were visible on one balcony, and the roof was collapsed over most of the building.

"I really feel for the people," he said. "I'm struggling for money, but I can always make more tomorrow. But how can they replace everything they lost?"

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