Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Armando Gutierrez just started his 5 a.m. shift Wednesday when he was called to an Aurora building fire that turned him into a community hero after he dragged a 93-year-old resident to safety.

Wednesday’s fire at Club Valencia, 1300 S. Parker Road, was the second major one since November, when fire forced displaced residents to a Red Cross shelter.

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The condominium complex, built in 1973 according to assessor records, is becoming notorious for fires after experiencing seven in the past year, according to South Metro Fire Rescue. Those fires displaced residents in 86 units and sent two people to the hospital with minor injuries Wednesday.

Gutierrez started his shift at 5 a.m. and got the fire call about 20 minutes later from a resident who smelled smoke that “reminded him of the smoke from about two months ago,” referring to a fire at the same apartment complex in November. 

Gutierrez, the first responder to fire, entered the condo where the fire started and was met with a wall of black smoke.

“As I stood at the front door frame, the whole apartment was covered in black smoke,” Gutierrez said. “I couldn’t see more than half a foot.”

Gutierrez yelled into the condo, looking for anyone trapped in the fire. When he didn’t get a response, he ducked down low and used his flashlight to navigate down the hallway.

At the end of the hallway, he found an elderly man, whom he later discovered to be 93-years-old, naked and frozen in shock, he said. 

“We gotta go, we gotta go, come on,” Gutierrez yelled, but the man was in shock and seemed like he had a language barrier. 

Gutierrez grabbed his arm, but the man didn’t move. At this point, Gutierrez said he was struggling to breathe and coughing, so he knew he needed to act quickly. He picked the man up and carried him out of the burning building to the lobby. 

“It was hard for me to breathe,” Gutierrez said. “It was affecting me at that point, so that’s why I grabbed him quickly.” 

Once they got to the lobby, other deputies showed up and assisted in rescue efforts, including that of several cats and dogs, Gutierrez said. 

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The man was treated at the scene and transported to the hospital for smoke inhalation. He later thanked Gutierrez in Russian with his daughter on the phone to translate, Gutierrez said.

“This is what I signed up for, to make a difference,” Gutierrez said. “On the days I get to do it, it feels even better.” 

South Metro Fire Rescue, Aurora Fire Department and Denver Fire Departments responded to the fire minutes after Gutierrez.

Firefighters rescued residents from the four-story complex, evaluating 10 of them on-scene and transporting two to the hospital with minor injuries, according to South Metro Fire Rescue.

The fire was contained shortly after 6 a.m. Investigators determined that the fire was accidental and caused by cooking. 

Wednesday morning’s fire was the second to set Club Valencia ablaze in recent months. In fact, the residential complex has had seven fires in the past year, according to South Metro Fire Rescue spokesperson Lauren Ono.

In early November, a fire at the housing complex left residents of 86 destroyed units homeless. The fire broke out at roughly 12:30 p.m. on Nov. 3 in the second floor of the condominium complex.

South Metro Fire officials said Wednesday’s fire was unrelated to the fire in November, the cause of which is still under investigation.

The building has an alarm system, but does not have a sprinkler system. Most new housing complexes have sprinkler systems, as the systems help mitigate damage during firefighter response time and help contain fires that break out, Ono said.

The Denver Gazette contacted Club Valencia’s owners Wednesday, who declined to comment on this story.

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The fire is not the only challenge Club Valencia presented to Wednesday’s responding officers. Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson John Bartmann said the responding officers have to fill out workers compensation paperwork because the building has a history of being infested with asbestos. 

Bartmann said deputies with the sheriff’s office are taught basics about fire, things like how to use a fire extinguisher, but are not taught to respond to, or rescue, from fires. They also don’t have the safety gear that firefighters have to protect them from smoke. 

“(Gutierrez) didn’t have to run in there today,” Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office Spokesperson Ginger Delgado said. “Sometimes people are like ‘why are deputies running into fires?’ But you get there and nobody’s there yet. If they’re telling you there’s victims inside, of course you’re going to go.”

Deputy Gutierrez started at the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office in July 2017. Prior to his time in Colorado, he was a police officer with the Los Angeles Police Department. He has been in law enforcement for more than eight years, he said.

“We’re always there when people need help whatever the case may be,” Gutierrez said. “We’re always willing to answer that call.”