The aftermath of a fire at an apartment building under construction near 1040 E. 2220 South in Sugar House in Salt Lake City is pictured on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2022. The fire, which started Tuesday night, prompted the overnight evacuation of hundreds of nearby residents. Residential evacuations have now been lifted. (Jeffrey D. Allred/Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — A four-alarm fire burned an apartment building under construction early Wednesday morning and forced the evacuation of 200 people. No one was injured. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
Unified Fire Capt. Eric Holmes of the Unified Fire Authority (which supplied one unit in the firefighting effort Tuesday night) joins KSL NewsRadio’s Dave & Dujanovic with Dave Noriega and Debbie Dujanovic to share advice on escaping an apartment fire.
Holmes said stay low and calm and move to the stairwells; they are a safe place in the event of a fire.
“The stairwells have fire doors associated with them. In some buildings, those close automatically in case of fires, so people can be safe in those stairwells for a time,” he said.
Rainbow Restoration advises to do the following during an apartment fire:
In addition, the fire captain said cover vents to prevent smoke from rising up and into the apartment. Holmes added opening windows can usher in smoke and fire into a room.
Elevators are out as a way to escape an apartment fire, but what about the disabled residents who can’t use the stairs to flee?
“Ideally, there’s something called an evacuation chair in the stairwells,” Holmes said. “This is a perfect opportunity to help your neighbor if you know of somebody or see somebody that is struggling. Try to grab one of those evacuation chairs and get them out to safety with you.”
Sugar House fire evacuees share their stories
Dave & Dujanovic can be heard weekdays from 9 a.m. to noon. on KSL NewsRadio. Users can find the show on the KSL NewsRadio website and app, as well as Apple Podcasts and Google Play.