SPRINKLER PREVENTS 'MAJOR' BLAZE IN GREELEY, FIRE DEPT. SAYS

A sprinkler stopped a potentially "major fire" that seriously burned a resident of the Chinook Winds Apartments in Greeley early Monday, the fire department said. Firefighters were alerted to an automatic fire alarm activation at 6622 10th Street at about 1:40 a.m. and "located a sprinkler-controlled fire on the second floor, which had been extinguished by the sprinkler system prior to arrival," the fire department said. One person was rescued, taken to the North Colorado Medical Center and airlifted to Swedish Medical Center in Englewood with second- and third-degree burns and signs of smoke inhalation, the department said. "Initial findings indicate that smoking materials being used in bed may have contributed to the fire's ignition," the department said. [Photo: Greeley Fire Department website]