DENVER, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- Three people died when a gathering near Denver to console a 23-year-old man over the loss of his mother turned into a raging house fire, officials said.
Firefighters responding to the fire early Sunday pulled the bodies of three people from the burning home near Roxborough State Park in Douglas County, Colo. Neighbors identified the dead as Joey Shedron, 23, his girlfriend, Amber Jeffers, 18, and a friend, Jeremy McCarroll, 20, the Rocky Mountain News reported.
As many as 18 young people had gathered at the house to console Shedron over the death that day of his mother, who had died of cancer, the newspaper said. Five people were in the house when witnesses said it erupted in a huge fireball and burned quickly. One man escaped the house unharmed while another was found outside with burns over 70 percent of his body, officials said.
Neighbors told The Denver Post that Shedron's father, who was out of town when the fire struck, owned a motorcycle repair shop and frequently worked on the vehicles in the garage where fuels were stored. Another said the house was the scene of frequent parties.
