CARLINO BOMBING - 1931

 

Denver was a Mafia town once upon a time.

On March 17, 1931, a bomb leveled the home of Colorado mobster Pete Carlino on Federal Boulevard in Denver. Firemen combed the ruins for bodies but found none. Carlino, his wife and seven children had left town.

Carlino had a mark on his back. He was attempting to extend his booze network from Pueblo to Denver and survived an earlier ambush by gunmen on a Denver street.

Carlino's mobster brother, Sam, wasn't as lucky. He and another thug were shot dead in Denver on May 8, 1931.

Pete's luck faltered, too. He was mortally wounded on Sept. 10 or 11 while traveling to Canon City. His body was found on a rural road riddled with bullets.

In the aftermath, bombs rocked Denver on the night of Sept. 28, 1931.

In a strange twist, if thing weren't strange enough, the original bombing of Carlino's home was determined to be a a facade - a deliberate attempt by his gang to collect insurance money.

Three of them were convicted of the crime. Pete Carlino faced charges in the matter, too, and was out on bail when he succumbed.

WHITTIER APARTMENTS - 2021

Photo: Boulder Fire-Rescue

Flames devoured the Whittier Apartments complex on Pearl Street in Boulder, Colorado, on Oct. 19, 2021 - one of the largest structure fires in the city's history.

The blaze started on the exterior at about 3:30 a.m., according to Boulder Fire-Rescue, and danced across six buildings housing 81 units, causing the structures to partially collapse.

First-arriving police officers reported a 40-foot wall of flames.

911 received the initial report of fire at 3:32 a.m., firefighter were dispatched at 3:34 a.m. and arrived at 3:39 a.m., and the fire was declared under control at 5:40 a.m., Boulder Fire-Rescue said.

Boulder Rural Fire Rescue, Louisville Fire Protection District, Mountain View Fire Department and Boulder Emergency Squad provided mutual aid.

No serious injuries were reported.

According to a city press release issued Feb 4, 2022: "There were no ignitable liquids found nor any other found sources of ignition. Therefore, the cause of the fire has been declared undetermined, with no found evidence of intentional fire setting."

The Denver Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined the investigation.

The Denver Fire Department also assisted. 

ARSENAL PLANE CRASHES

The Rocky Mountain Arsenal in Commerce City was the scene of at least three aircraft accidents. On March 25, 1949, an Air Force C-45 on approach to Stapleton Field crashed in a snowstorm, killing three crewmembers, the Rocky Mountain News reported. On Dec,. 4, 1951, a United Air Lines training aircraft crashed at the arsenal, killing three. On Nov. 15, 1956, the arsenal's firefighters saved an airman pinned in the wreckage of a smoldering Air Force B-36.        

SUNCOR REFINERY - 2016

Photo: The Denver Channel
On Oct. 15, 2016, an orange plume billowed from the Suncor Refinery in Commerce City following a power outage. Emergency services responded and local officials issued a shelter in place order.

UNITED FLIGHT 328

Photo: NTSB Accident Report

On Feb. 20, 2021, United Airlines Flight 328 suffered an engine fire and fan blade separation that showered jet parts over the Front Range minutes after departing Denver International Airport.

The flight crew radioed a "Mayday" call, declared an emergency and returned the Boeing 777-222 to DIA where Denver Fire Department crash crews stood ready.

There were no injuries in the air or on the ground and the landing was smooth all things considered, however, debris punched a hole in the roof of a home in Broomfield.

Investigators determined a cockpit-controlled "spar valve" closed properly, preventing a more serious fuel-fed fire.

Flight 328 was bound for Honolulu, carrying 229 passengers.

Photo: Fox 31
Denver firefighters doused the engine with foam. 

Photo: Broomfield Police
Much of the debris landed in the Northmoor and Red Leaf sections of Broomfield, with an engine cowling plunking in the yard of a home on Elmwood Street in the vicinity of East 13th Avenue.

ON THE ICE - 2024

Photo: West Metro Fire Rescue
On Jan. 16, 2024, West Metro Fire Rescue struck a second alarm for a fire at the Rocky Mountain Motel on West Colfax Avenue at Harlan in Lakewood, Colorado. "The extremely cold weather made it challenging, as two fire hydrants on scene were frozen," West Metro said on Facebook. There was one injury.

LOCOMOTIVE - 2023

Photo: South Adams Fire
On Nov. 2, 2023, firefighters from South Adams and Brighton attended a BNSF Railway locomotive fire in Commerce City, Colorado, near the site of the old Rocky Mountain Arsenal. The locomotive was pulling a grain train.  No injuries were reported.

COLD CASE - 1981

Colorado Bureau of Investigation Files

On the evening of Feb. 8, 1981, the Denver Fire Department responded to a fire at the XV Logan Apartments on North Logan Street. Firefighters found the bodies of 13-month-old Gerald Perez and two others. The fire was ruled arson. Anyone with information to call the Denver Police Department.

AURORA INFERNOS - 2023

 

Photos: Aurora Fire-Rescue

Aurora, Colorado, was the scene of a pair of construction site infernos in December 2023.

The Dec. 16 blaze (bottom three photos) at East Colfax Avenue and Peoria Street went to five alarms.

It was "the largest in AFR’s history in terms of property loss, amount of fire apparatus used and duration until it was extinguished," according to an official press release.

"A total of 42 units from across the Denver metro area initially responded to the fire, and over 50 apparatus in total were used to fully extinguish the fire over a five-day period," the press release said.

Damage was estimated at $150 million.

The Dec. 14 fire (top two photos) occurred near the 7300-block of South Addison Court and went two three alarms.