Denver mayor says converted hotel windows were tampered with, letting child fall

The child fell six floors from what was once a hotel located on East Hampden Avenue that is now part of the House1000 initiative. The hotel was rebranded as The Tamarac Family Shelter and is managed by The Salvation Army. It holds 205 units for families with children, according to the city of Denver's website.

On Monday at about 2:15 p.m., multiple agencies responded to the report of a child falling from the building. The child was transported to Children's Hospital but was awake and responsive, despite multiple injuries, according to the Denver Fire Department.

On Tuesday, facilities workers told the mayor and Denver City Council members about overnight work to secure the shelter's windows — some of which were once doors to balconies, according to the mayor.

"Basically, went through every room to ensure that those bolts that prevent doors from opening all the way were tightened so that they could not be opened from the inside," said a facilities worker. "What we're doing today is making a permanent solution, where we're putting in bolts that can't be manipulated with Phillips or regular screwdrivers that you can buy at the store, to go even a step further to ensure that — that's what we're doing today."

The Salvation Army told FOX31 in a statement provided Tuesday that it met all responsibilities to ensure the windows were secured and that guests were informed the windows should stay closed. The Salvation Army said that:

"The Salvation Army and the City will continue working together to ensure a safe and secure environment for everyone staying at the Tamarac shelter," the Salvation Army stated.

During the meeting, Mayor Johnston shared some history about what the Tamarac shelter previously looked like when it was owned by Embassy Suites. He said the hotel had "tiny balconies" off the exterior that he described as being about two feet deep.

"The Embassy Suites, and they had fences around them," Johnston said. "The Embassy Suites removed all of the fences around those balconies and then closed the balconies with locks so that they were not accessible. That was done before we acquired the property."

He said that when Denver purchased the property, they shored up the locks and put notices on every window to warn guests away from the openings.

"We had some folks who broke off the locks on those systems and opened the doors even against our guidance," Johnston said. "And so that was how the tragedy that happened yesterday with the child that fell out, was that that was a room where they had broken off the lock that we had put in."

Johnston said that the city is installing a new brand of lock that is not manipulable.

"They're not being removed by any amount of amateur effort," Johnston said. "And so I think I'm really grateful for their both thoughtful approach up front and then quick response to adding extra protections despite folks tampering with those locks that we obviously saw why we don't want them opened."

The city told FOX31 via email that while trying to improve ventilation in the rooms, rivets were being installed to make the design more difficult to tamper with. The city said the work began before the fall on Monday, and said the current design is safe as long as it is not tampered with.

The city also provided FOX31 with a lengthy statement, concluding it with: "Safety will always be our top priority, however, at this time we have no reason to believe this is anything more than a terrible and unfortunate accident."