All six teenagers charged with trespassing at the old Copley Hospital building in Aurora denied starting the fire that alerted authorities to their presence, officials said Tuesday.
At about 6:45 p.m. Friday, firefighters responded to the dilapidated former hospital for a fire which several people had called 911 about, according to a news release from the fire department. Several people also reported seeing young people fleeing from the building after the fire started.
First responders saw smoke showing from the roof of the seven-story building and located the fire in an enclosed room on the roof, according to the fire department. Within a half hour, 19 firefighters had the flames extinguished, officials said.
Meanwhile, Aurora police officers apprehended six teenagers running from within the fenced area near the building’s courtyard, said police spokesman Dan Ferrelli. Two 15-year-old boys, three 16-year-old boys and a 16-year-old girl were each charged with criminal trespass to land and released to their parents after denying starting the fire, according to the news release.
“Even though they admitted they knew they weren’t supposed to be in the building, they said they were exploring it,” Ferrelli said.
At 8 a.m. the day of the fire, the Aurora Police Department published a Facebook post warning readers about the dangers of “urban exploration” in vacant building, noting the hazards of unstable floors, missing staircases and empty elevator shafts, broken glass, mold and other environmental hazards, rodents and more.
“It may be the last building you ever enter,” police cautioned in the post.
And for those who get caught, there’s the threat of criminal charges, attorney’s fees, fines and jail time, police said.
“We’re aware of a couple of the structures in Aurora that have become popular for urban exploring (or for chasing myths and rumors),” police wrote. “They can tax our resources for people who are actually in need of emergency help and put our officers and the community in danger. When we catch trespassers we arrest them.”
No injuries were reported in connection with Friday’s fire, and because the building has been vacant for many years, fire officials said they did not determine the monetary value of the fire damage.
A bigger fire at the old hospital building, already a major concern of the fire department, is something of a worst nightmare scenario, said fire department spokesman Capt. Jim Rhodes.
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Vacant since Rush-Copley Medical Center moved in the 1990s to its new facility on Ogden Avenue on the city’s far southwest side, the old hospital building has decayed structurally and attracted a variety of crime, as reported over the years in the Beacon-News.
The city has a repair demolition action in court against the owner, Ferrelli said.
In a January forum between Aurora’s mayoral candidates, Ald. Richard Irvin – now mayor-elect – said he was past considering redevelopment an option for the Copley building, and that it needs to be knocked down.
When Rhodes heard there was a fire at the Copley building, his first thoughts were concerns for the firefighters’ safety, given the poor condition of the structure they were responding to, he said. They’re lucky the fire was small and quickly reported, because bigger flames could have required a more extensive search of the unstable building, putting firefighters at a greater risk as they checked for people inside, Rhodes said.
While some firefighters made it to the roof by entering the hospital on the ground floor and taking the stairs up, the rest, including Rhodes, ascended a ladder to get there, he said.
“Until we know no one is inside, we assume someone could be,” Rhodes said. “Had (the fire) got going, it would have been very dangerous for us to fight.”
Officials aren’t sure what all was used to start the fire, Rhodes said. Ferrelli said it’s likely other trespassers got away before police arrived, and while they believe the fire was purposely set, because of the condition of the building, police are not conducting an active investigation.
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