After a fire broke out at a popular downtown Colorado Springs burger joint last weekend, local artists are calling it a “miracle” the flames did not spread to their upstairs studios.

Around 6 a.m. Oct. 5, firefighters responded to a blaze at the Saks Building downtown housing multiple businesses. A fire was found and extinguished inside a single business, the Bingo Burger restaurant, at 132 N. Tejon St., according to the Colorado Springs Fire Department.

Wendy Mike, a local artist who has worked out of a studio above Bingo Burger for 14 years, was on her way to the mountains that morning to check out the fall foliage when she got the call the building below was on fire, threatening her studio above.

According to the Fire Department, most of the fire damage was contained to the kitchen of the restaurant and no flames spread upstairs.

“It’s just kind of a miracle that the (ceiling) didn’t catch fire and spread it to the upper floors,” Mike said. “We are just really lucky that didn’t take the whole building.”

Some of the building suffered damage as firefighters worked to ensure all flames were extinguished, such as doorjambs  splintered as they forced doors open to check for spreading flames.

While the smoke caused some damage, the “horrendous” smell lingering a week later continues to affect tenants.

“The smell was just unbearable,” Mike said. “We walked out of there, and there was just nothing we could do about it, we were so stinky.”

The smell is also impacting the artwork, Mike says, as she looks into restoration options. In the nearly 15 years Mike has worked downtown, she has never had renter’s insurance for her studio. She never felt the need. Typically, the material she works with is low-cost, primarily fabric, paper and wood.

“It just never occurred to me,” Mike said. “I think as an artist, you get used to doing everything on a budget, and that’s just been my mentality.”

Looking to the future, she said she hopes to invest in some sort of renter’s insurance because of the fear something like this could happen again.

“It’s not anybody’s fault. The fire marshal confirmed with the building manager that it doesn’t look like it’s a case of any kind of arson or anything like that,” Mike said. “It’s just one of those freak accidents.”

Mike applauded the building’s owner for response to the fire. She said the plan is to cover repairs for the public areas of the building, including replacing all the doors and doorjambs.

“The Saks Building is a pretty special place,” Mike said. “They’ve just been the best landlords for me for the last 14 years.”

Much of the building only sustained smoke damage, the Fire Department’s spokesperson Ashley Franco confirmed, but businesses might remain closed until insurance matters are processed.

Around the corner from Bingo Burger sits True North Art Gallery, which suffered smoke damage. One of the co-owners of the gallery, Melissa Porter, told The Gazette that most of the artwork is either cleaned or is in the process. However, some of the smoke has been absorbed by the paper and wood art pieces.

“The smell is the biggest concern and the biggest destroyer of the artwork,” Porter said. “We have ozone purifiers running in there now to absorb and clean the air because right now, it smells like fire.”

All artists have since taken their work out of True North Art Gallery so the deep-cleaning process can begin. Porter says things will need to be cleaned with “harsh chemicals” before the art, and art lovers, can be reintroduced to the space.

The physical gallery remains closed for the foreseeable future, and it is online shopping only until further notice at www.TrueNorthArtGallery.com.

Several other businesses have also complained of a smoky smell in the days following the weekend fire. Everest Tibet Imports, a local gift shop, said the store experienced minor smoke and fire damage, and closed for a day after the fire.

The owners told The Gazette they are remaining open while looking into repairing some minor damage, but nothing so bad as to affect day-to-day operations.

Another neighboring business, Escape Velocity Comics and Graphic Novels, was able to remain open. Store workers claimed they did not suffer any damage but said they did have concerns that the smoke smell could settle into their books. Customers mentioned the air quality while shopping around in the days following the flames.

As for Bingo Burger, according to the store’s sister location in Pueblo, the restaurant will be closed indefinitely as repairs are made. The Gazette attempted to contact the owners and management of the Colorado Springs location and did not receive a response.

The next-door Solar Roast Coffee shop, at the corner of Tejon and Bijou streets, was roped off and closed the day of the fire. The cafe’s Facebook page says it will be closed until “further notice” due to smoke and fire damage.

The page did not announce any reopening plans as of Friday. Management for Solar Roast could not be reached by press time.

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined as the Fire Department continues with its investigation, according to Franco.

The Saks Building fire happened 10 months after a similar incident in the downtown building directly to the west. That fire, Dec. 4, 2023, at 15 E. Bijou St., was deemed by fire investigators to have started accidentally in the kitchen of the Taste of Jerusalem Café. Smoke and fire damage from that blaze displaced numerous businesses, including the Icons bar and Yobel retail shop. To date, none of those businesses have been able to return.