AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin fire officials released the names Wednesday of two people killed in an apartment fire Monday that also displaced nine people.
Kaitlyn Denson, 26, and Joseph Tarin, 30, were in a second-story apartment at The Woods on Barton Skyway when a fire started on the balcony in the early hours of Monday.
The fire quickly ripped through the apartment and attic. Fire crews knocked out the fire within 30 minutes. As they worked to put out hotspots and search the burned area, they initially there were no victims.
However, on subsequent searches, the victims were found in the debris of the damaged apartment.
The apartment was built before sprinklers were a city code requirement and since 2011, there have been two other major fires at the complex. Building management told KXAN one building was rebuilt according to current codes after a fire.
Initial estimation of damage of the Monday fire amounted to about $750,000 and nine residents of the apartment building were displaced.