West Metro firefighters said hoarded items blocked doors and windows, slowing their search of the house near Lakewood

By Elliott Wenzler
The Denver Post

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — A 77-year-old man died inside his Jefferson County home near Lakewood Sunday morning after the residence caught fire and first responders couldn’t get inside because of hoarded items, according to West Metro Fire.

The home, in the 1100 block of South Owens Court in Jefferson County, is just outside the city limits of Lakewood . West Metro Fire reported that neighbors had called 911 because of smoke coming out of the house at 8:50 a.m.

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When crews arrived, they weren’t able to get into any of the doors or windows because of all the piled items filling the home from floor to ceiling, said Steve Kornegay with West Metro Fire.

“We had to dig our way in to be able to search and get hose lines in there,” said Kornegay, who was the incident commander. “Had that not been the case, this would have been a much much quicker operation.”

Once they were able to clear a path through the home, they found the homeowner dead, Kornegay said.

Officials are still investigating what started the fire.

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