6 treated for smoke inhalation after Murray apartment fire rescue

File photo: Gephardt Daily

MURRAY, Utah, Oct. 8, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — Police and fire crews quickly controlled an apartment fire in Murray Friday night, containing it to one building but not before six people were treated for smoke inhalation.

Two policemen as well as four tenants were treated on scene for smoke inhalation, Murray Fire Chief Joe Mittleman said, unsure if any needed hospitalization. The two officers were among Murray police who arrived on scene at the blaze at 309 E 4500 South just before the fire department, Mittleman told Gephardt Daily.

“They got here first and were able to get everybody out,” he said, including a woman who had to be plucked off a second-floor balcony.

The building holds 20-plus apartments, he said, with the one where the fire started totally destroyed and another suffering significant damage, with smoke damage throughout the building.

The fire dispatched at 5:30 p.m. was extinguished within an hour, the chief said, with crews expected to stay on scene till 9 p.m. searching for hot spots and mopping up. “What we call overhaul and investigation.”

The fire appears accidentally caused and originated in the kitchen of the destroyed apartment. “That’s where 44 percent of all fires start nationwide,” he said.

This fire is an “object lesson” for National Fire Prevention Week, he added, which starts Sunday. “Their smoke alarms worked and they all knew their escape plans.”

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