Colorado Springs LGBT youth organization leader says fire wasn’t a hate crime

While investigators don’t yet know what caused the an early Friday morning fire that destroyed the new home of a nonprofit dedicated to supporting LGBTQ youth in Colorado Springs, Inside/Out Youth Services Leaders don’t believe the organization was targeted and caution against speculation.

The nonprofit, which offers a safe space for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and questioning youth between the ages of 13 and 23, moved into its location at 1409 Potter Drive in Colorado Springs a little more than a month ago and had scheduled a grand opening Sept. 27.

Neighbors reported seeing smoke coming from the building at 3:25 a.m. that same day, according to Colorado Springs Fire Department reports. Firefighters were on the scene within four minutes, said spokeswoman Sunny Smaldino. But the fire was too intense and firefighters decided not to go inside the building.

“When you can’t get in and knock a fire down from inside, you have a lot more work to do,” Smaldino said.

They didn’t finish fighting the fire until after noon.

Because of extensive damage, it took two days for firefighters to prepare and secure the scene for investigators, who first set foot in the building Sept. 29. The fire burned more than 2,300 square feet and investigators have a lot of work to do.

“It’s going to take time,” Smaldino said. “It’s going to take months. This is not the overnight thing you see on TV, especially with the government shutdown. We’re not sure yet how that will impact this.”

However, she said investigators from the Colorado Springs Fire Department and the department of alcohol tobacco and firearms have been questioning a long list of potential witnesses, including people who live in neighboring apartment buildings and the many volunteers and youth who had access to the building.

The department has received several calls and there has been speculation from the media that the fire could have been arson and a hate crime.

“There is no way to know that and there’s nothing out there that clearly states what caused this fire until we have finished our investigation,” Smaldino said.

Chris Robertson, executive director of Inside/Out Youth Services, said he doesn’t believe the organization was targeted.

“We’re a youth organization,” he said. “It’s really hard to imagine that this would have happened on purpose. Even if the fire department does determine that it’s something other than electrical or something like that, it would be really hard to determine that we were targeted.”

Inside/Out has been helping Colorado Springs LGBTQ youth for more than 22 years and has grown its membership and participation dramatically over the years, Robertson said. It has become a recognized and valued community nonprofit.

“The ‘inside’ part of organization is providing a safe, welcoming, nonjudgmental space,” Robertson said. “The ‘outside’ part is being an advocate on behalf of youth and making people understand the needs of young people dealing with sexual orientation or identity issues.”

He said the group has been doing a lot of anti-bullying work with the local school districts and administrators have started approaching the organization instead of the other way around.

The group works with about 500 unique individual youth a year.

Long and warm summer days usually draw smaller crowds, Robertson said. But the gathering space is particularly important heading into winter when more young people begin coming to gatherings.

“One of the kids said the other day, ‘well, I guess we’re homeless now,’” Robertson said. “It broke my heart. I’ve cried so many times in the last three days. But the truth is we’re not homeless. We’re going to make it through this and we’re going to thrive.”

Robertson said he and his board already looked at two temporary spaces and is confident something will work in the short term while the organization looks for a permanent home.

“But I did remind my board that it took us three months to find this place,” Robertson said.

The organization had been housed in the basement of 235 S. Nevada Ave., which the Colorado Springs Independent owns, for more than seven years. But the Independent needed the space and asked the organization to move, Robertson said.

“John Weiss (who owns the Independent newspaper) has been very generous and he was very gracious,” Robertson said. “He gave us plenty of time. He just needed the space.”

Burglars broke into the Independent building near the end of Inside/Out’s lease and speculators have said they felt the fire was just another in a string of targeted hate crimes.

“I just hate that that’s getting out there,” he said. “We were not targeted. If they stole anything from us, it was just because it was out there and convenient.”

The Independent had several new model Apple computers stolen in those burglaries.

The youth have been resilient and optimistic, Robertson said. They held hands and sang at a rally in the parking lot across the street from the burned building on Sept. 27 and have carried on meeting.

People have been calling to offer help and support. For right now, moral support and money donations are the best outlets, Robertson said.

The local LGBT community has hosted fundraisers that will help Inside/Out ensure the upcoming holiday season — starting with Halloween — is a special one for the kids.

And the search for a new building and permanent location will begin as soon as the organization has a good temporary home, Robertson said.

“It might even be time to think about buying something instead of renting,” he said. “We’re obviously here to stay.”