Aurora fire, pipe burst damages high-rise units

A fire and a burst pipe left three units uninhabitable Tuesday in an Aurora senior housing high-rise, officials said.

The fire broke out around 4 a.m. in a unit on the sixth floor of the eight-story high-rise on the 400 block of North Constitution Drive, according to a news release.

Crews were able to put out the fire, which was contained to the one unit, and the sixth-floor residents were evacuated from the building.

A 65-year-old woman who lives inside the unit where the fire occurred was taken to Presence Mercy Medical Center in Aurora for smoke inhalation. An update on her condition was not immediately available Tuesday night.

Officials said "careless use of smoking materials" caused the fire, according to the news release.

After the fire was extinguished, a standpipe providing water to the firefighters burst, leading to water damage to the first, fourth and fifth floors.

The unit where the fire occurred is uninhabitable, and two units on the fifth floor were left uninhabitable because of water damage. Aurora Fire Department spokesman Lt. Craig Mateski said possibly more people could be displaced.

The Red Cross and the city's victim services were contacted to help find housing for those affected.