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Early morning fire tears through SLC apartment complex
Aug 8, 2018, 7:40 AM | Updated: 10:51 am
SALT LAKE CITY – Two people suffered minor injuries, but up to 40 people have been displaced from their homes, after a large fire tore through 24 units of an apartment complex early Wednesday.
Salt Lake City crews fought the early morning fire at the apartment complex that displaced about 40 people. (Photo: Julio Puentes, KSL TV)
Fifty Salt Lake City firefighters with three ladder trucks rushed to the Seasons at Pebble Creek, 1620 W. Snow Queen Pl., with flames spewing from some of the units.
#UPDATE from @slcfire: 24 units displaced which is about 40 people. We’re told @RedCrossUtahNV @ @SLCoEmerMngt are helping folks find shelter, food etc. @KSL5TV pic.twitter.com/QR5uij0eHS
— Caitlin Burchill (@newsyCaitlin) August 8, 2018
Residents Jeremy and Rebecca Young grabbed what they could. After sunrise, they learned their unit was destroyed.
“We just grabbed what we could, like diaper bags, IDs, wallets, stuff like that,” Jeremy said.
Sadly, the Youngs just confirmed they lost their apartment. LIVE at 630am @kslnewsradio https://t.co/Swb945bVAz
— Peter Samore (@kslpetersamore) August 8, 2018
“We just had them put shoes on, and I asked, ‘Do we need to grab anything else? No? Then get out,’” Rebecca said.
The Youngs and their five children got out safely. Sadly, this isn’t their first fire.
“We were here when the other building burned about four or five years ago,” Jeremy said. “We were supposed to be in (another) building on the other side, and the building right next to it is the one that burned the first time.
Once the flames were out, you could see a gaping hole in the apartment complex roof. (Photo: Peter Samore, KSL Newsradio)
“So, we dodged that bullet, but now we’ve got this.”
Fire Division Chief Ryan Mellor confirms two residents suffered minor injuries.
Two people were hurt in the apartment complex fire – one of them by jumping from a balcony. (Photo: Peter Samore, KSL Newsradio)
“We had one person that did jump and was taken to the hospital in ‘bravo’ condition, which means paramedics not needed,” he said.
That person jumped from a third story. Another person suffered from smoke inhalation.
Mellor says firefighters performed a “trench operation” once the flames settled down.
“They cut the roof from one side to the other to keep the fire from going into the other half of the building,” Mellor said.
“They’re also trying to salvage as much property as they can for the people that were in the affected units.”
Investigators are determining how the fire started.
