Several people were injured Saturday at the Gaylord Rockies Resort in Aurora after some mechanical equipment collapsed in the pool area. And although two people suffered life-threatening injuries, Aurora Fire Rescue said the investigation into the collapse will be handled by the resort itself.
The collapse and injuries were confirmed by this agency around 10:00 a.m. The agency later said a total of six people were injured, two of whom were taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
“There will be an investigation, that will be the full responsibility of the Gaylord,” Aurora Fire Chief Alec Oughton said at a news conference after the collapse. “It’s not a fire department investigation, but I know they have an interest in investigating what happened and getting to the bottom of it.”
A guest at the resort told CBS News Colorado that the fire alarm went off and the resort was evacuated.
This person saw an injured child being treated on the pool deck after it happened. They said the equipment in question that collapsed appeared to be a pool pipe.
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This witness shared videos of victims being treated on the indoor pool deck.
“I just heard from the staff that there was a ventilation failure and that no one had died and I heard over the radio from one of the firefighters that there were at least two casualties,” another witness told CBS News Colorado.
One woman, identified as Jenn Spykerman, said on Twitter that her son was nearly hit by the duct and that she saw several people being treated and taken away in ambulances.
@MarriottBonvoy @GaylordHotels The air conditioning system crashed in the guest pool area this morning. My son narrowly missed being hit by the disaster. Not a good day at the Gaylord in Denver. pic.twitter.com/AbSXQe53Rd
— Jenn Spykerman (@JennSpykerman) May 6, 2023
CBS News Colorado interviewed her 12-year-old son Trevor Spykerman immediately after the collapse.
“I was in the pool, I just went down the slide and all of a sudden all the metal pipes and stuff fell around everything and some fell into the hot tub that I saw people getting in earlier,” he said. Trevor said he didn’t see anyone injured in the collapse, but shortly after saw a man with red marks on his back.
He said the collapse lasted about 15 seconds and described it as happening in slow motion.
“When I saw it all coming down, most of it took five seconds to come down, and it brought all the other pipes down as well,” he said. “It smelled like oil…I thought maybe the roof was going to collapse soon and I thought maybe because of the smell of oil, maybe something could catch on fire.”
CBS
Trevor said lifeguards and other staff responded immediately, followed later by paramedics. The lifeguards blew their whistles and ordered everyone out of the pool. “They did a good job of evacuating the building,” he said.
Trevor hurt his feet evacuating the pool because of the debris since he was still barefoot, he said, but luckily he was not hurt.
At a press conference outside the complex, Oughton said the initial call for a structure collapse came in at 9:50 a.m. Some units were already on the scene training at the hotel and were the first to respond.
CBS
There were 50 to 100 people in the pool area at the time, Oughton said. There is still no indication of what caused it. The Gaylord Rockies are investigating the incident as well as the fire department.
There is no further threat of collapse, he continued, applauding his responders for a “quick and effective response.”
Austen Erblat
