Salt Lake City Businesses Heavily Damaged By Four-Alarm Fire
UPDATE COURTESY SALT LAKE CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT:
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – July 26, 2015 (Gephardt Daily) — The Salt Lake City Fire Department responded to a commercial yard and warehouse fire at 879 South Gladiola Street (3400 West) yesterday at 3:39 p.m. The warehouse was a single structure, divided into four separate businesses.
Upon arrival of the first engine crew, heavy fire conditions were found in dumpsters, stacks of pallets, and a shipping trailer in the yard next to a warehouse. Fire had also spread into the warehouse adjacent to the shipping trailer.
A third alarm was called and crews surrounded the structure, working to contain the blaze. While fighting fire on the interior, a series of explosions caused a temporary withdrawal of firefighters for safety concerns. The small explosions continued for the next few minutes, and propane cylinders for forklifts were considered the cause. The commercial fire sprinkler system helped contain the fire inside of the warehouse until crews were able to re-enter and extinguish it. A grass fire also ignited in the vacant field adjacent to the yard, burning about one acre to the north. A fourth alarm was called, and West Valley Firefighters arrived to control the grass fire.
The fire was brought under control around 5 p.m. However crews will continue to overhaul the deep seated fire in the shipping trailer and other yard material throughout the night. Fire fighting foam is being used along with a bulldozer from SLC Public Works to perform the overhaul. It is estimated that crews will continue working on hot spots throughout the night. Major fire damage was limited to the yard and the exterior walls of the warehouse. Minor fire damage occurred inside of the warehouse. Smoke had filled the warehouse and there was about two inches of of standing water due to the sprinkler activation. Initial damage estimate was $150,000 and that number may increase once property owners are able to assess water damage to their products and materials.
Salt Lake City Fire Department Investigators are on scene and conducting an investigation. There is no indication or reports at this time of this being a suspicious fire. No information on the origin or cause of this fire will be available until sometime today after 10 a.m.
(ORIGINAL STORY BELOW)
Firefighters from Salt Lake City are on the scene of a four-alarm industrial fire at 3400 W. 909 South.
According to the Salt Lake City Fire Department, the fire appeared to start in the back of a tractor trailer parked next to several businesses at 879 South Gladiola Street around 3 p.m. Sunday.
By the time firefighters arrived, the truck was fully engulfed in flames and the fire had spread to the nearby buildings. As it grew in intensity a series of explosions rocked the complex with flames jumping 20 feet in the air. Firefighters say propane tanks were the likely cause of the blasts.
Fire investigators have yet to determine the cause of the fire.
There were no reports of injuries.
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