By Shane Benjamin – Durango Herald

A sprinkler system may have saved a woman’s condo Monday on Main Avenue.
Durango Fire Marshal Tom Kaufman shows the water sprinkler head that deterred a fire that started in a condominium bathroom at 2855 Main Ave. on Monday. The sprinkler is positioned outside the bathroom door, and more sprinklers are in the apartment. Firefighters say the sprinklers helped limit the damage.

Durango Fire Marshal Tom Kaufman shows the water sprinkler head that deterred a fire that started in a condominium bathroom at 2855 Main Ave. on Monday. The sprinkler is positioned outside the bathroom door, and more sprinklers are in the apartment. Firefighters say the sprinklers helped limit the damage.

The fire occurred at 3:36 p.m. in a second-story condo at the Uptown Durango Condos, 2855 Main Ave.

Firefighters suspect a hair dryer or crimping iron in the bathroom ignited the blaze. The devices possibly melted a butane lighter, which didn’t help matters, said Dave Abercrombie, spokesman with the Durango Fire & Rescue Authority.

No one was home at the time, so firefighters broke through the front door, he said. Inside, the condo was filled with smoke, but the sprinkler system had extinguished the blaze, he said.

“Thank goodness for the sprinkler system,” Abercrombie said.

“Sprinklers save property, period.”

The owner of the condo declined to comment.

Firefighters said the fire occurred in unit 206B, which is owned by Jenny Stollar, according to La Plata County’s GIS Web site.

A property manager confirmed that the condo was owner-occupied.

Two dogs were rescued from inside the condo. They appeared in good condition.

The apartment is surrounded by two other condos, and it sits on top of two businesses, both of which sustained water damage.

Abercrombie said there is several thousand dollars worth of water damage, but had the sprinklers not been installed, the damage could have been much greater.

“Sprinklers are a tremendous asset to at least control the fire, if not put it out,” he said.

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