May 20, 2020 (Photo: Steve Breinholt, KSL TV)
MILLCREEK, Utah — Crews were called to a two alarm fire burning at an apartment building in Millcreek on Tuesday morning.
Firefighters say the fire at the Driftwood apartments near 3900 South and 700 West started on the third floor just before 2 a.m. It quickly spread and was burning through the roof when crews arrived.
Unified Fire Authority spokesman Matthew McFarland says residents of 24 apartments began self-evacuating before crews arrived.
“This has been a great opportunity for interagency cooperative work,” McFarland said.
“With the four different (fire) departments, the police department, power and light, we’ve got a lot of resources that have come in to work together.”
McFarland says the best news is that everyone was able to evacuate in a safe manner.
“At this point in time, there are no casualties and there are no injuries of any kind,” he explains. “Neither civilian nor firefighters.”
Now, the attention turns to making sure the displaced residents have somewhere to go.
“We are working with Red Cross,” says McFarland. “With 24 units currently displaced, that’s going to be a lot of individuals. They are going to work with these individuals to make sure they have the resources and the shelter they need.”
Investigations into what caused the fire and how much damage is left behind will begin when it is safe.
This is the same apartment complex that suffered a fire last summer.
On Aug. 26, 2019, a fire at Driftwood Apartments displaced around 100 residents. It also killed several pets.
Investigators believe the blaze started in one of the second-floor apartments. Eventually, six apartment units in the building were deemed a complete loss, while several others suffered smoke damage. The fire caused an estimated $500,000 worth of damage.