ARAPAHOE COUNTY, Colo. — Three juveniles were injured, including one seriously, after a floor collapsed during a house party in Arapahoe County Saturday night.
South Metro Fire Rescue responded to the home in the 20900 block of Princeton Place near Aurora around 9:30 p.m. A 911 caller reported that “people were dying” and hung up.
Firefighters said 100-150 juveniles attending a party at the address caused a portion of the first floor of the home to collapse into the basement.
Numerous people violently fell when the floor buckled. Video posted on social media shows a large crowd jumping on the first floor just before the collapse occurred, according to South Metro Fire Rescue.
The three injured juveniles were transported to the hospital. Two of them sustained minor injuries. A third juvenile suffered serious injuries. Their conditions are not known.
SMFR said there were others assessed on the scene who did not need to be taken to the hospital. The department said any additional injuries were not reported to SMFR.
Firefighters said they completed searches of the entire home and confirmed there were no victims trapped. Video released on March 3 shows deputies responding to the scene, clearing the house and investigating what occurred. *Warning* some explicit language can be heard in the video.
To complicate efforts, the collapse also caused a natural gas leak, but crews were able to quickly shut the line off before it sparked a fire, South Metro said.
"It's truly remarkable that no deaths or additional injuries occurred," South Metro Fire Rescue said in a release. They did not identify the homeowners or those taken to the hospital.
South Metro said a building department official confirmed that too many people were occupying the space and their weight caused the floor to buckle.
A relative of the homeowner told Denver7 that many of the attendees were uninvited and they crashed the party and trashed the home.
Fire crews worked to stabilize the structure and used emergency shoring to secure the damaged portions.
The extent of the damage is not known. However, the county deemed the property unsafe to occupy, according to a sign posted on the home Sunday.
A team from Red Cross was on scene to assist displaced residents, firefighters said. It’s unclear how many were displaced.
