SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, March 29, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — Fire officials said Tuesday that a three-alarm fire at an abandoned warehouse just North of SR-201 has been ruled an accident.
Fire Investigators said the fire was a result of a warming fire that came from within the structure.
Salt Lake City Fire Captain Mark Bednarik said the first calls came in about 7:25 p.m. at a large warehouse located near 7200 W. 2100 South.
“Before crews arrived, the fire was pretty small, but just before firefighters arrived there was a large propane explosion that really set the fire in motion,” Bednarik said. “There was a second explosion shortly after and the entire warehouse was fully engulfed in flames.”
Bednarik said the building used to be Syme Construction, and is currently unused by the owners except for storage. The building had several propane tanks around it and some other old equipment inside.
Nine different fire engines from three different agencies responded. Salt Lake City Fire, West Valley City Fire and Unified Fire were able to contain the fire just after 8 p.m.
The investigation is ongoing but Bednarik said he was told that even though the building was old and depreciated in value, the cost to replace the structure would be near $500,000.
