'The Smoke Alarm... saved this lady's life', historic home burns to the ground in Manitou Springs
Jun 05, 2026
A house fire prompted an evacuation order for some people living in Manitou Springs on Friday morning.At about 2:30 a.m., the following message was posted to social media by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office:"The El Paso Count
y Sheriff's Office has issued an EVACUATION ORDER for 30-block Burns Rd due to a FIRE near Between Washington Ave and Pinon Ln on El Paso Blvd. Everyone in this area is ordered to EVACUATE NOW." The area is between Memorial Park in Manitou Springs and Highway 24.The evacuation order was lifted at about 3:30 a.m.Watch: "The Smoke Alarm Definitely Saved Her Life", and see what the scene looks like in the video player below.News5 spoke to the homeowner, Don Goede, who rented out the building. He said his tenant made it out safely. Learning more about the building, this was a historic home, according to Goede, which had been in Manitou Springs for roughly 100 years.The Manitou Springs Fire Chief tells News5 the resident likely would not have made it out alive if she didn't have a working smoke detector."This fire advanced pretty quickly, and I don't know what the situation would have been differently if she had not heard the smoke alarm and evacuated. The smoke alarm definitely had a big impact on this fire and had an impact on saving this lady's life," said Chief Keith Buckmiller.The cause of the fire is under investigation.____Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
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