SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Aug. 7, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Salt Lake City Fire crews responded to a report of visible smoke and flames coming from an abandoned apartment building at 243 S. 200 East in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Firefighters were dispatched around 2 a.m. SLCFD Capt. Tony Stowe said active flames were in the living room and eave area of a vacant apartment, and it was decided to make a rapid attack and try to get things under control as quickly as possible.
“We also escalated it to a two-alarm fire based on the square footage and unknown stages of construction,” Stowe said.
He explained that the construction style in an older building, such as this one, often includes heavy timbers and lath-and-plaster walls and ceilings, which can spread a fire without a lot of visible indicators. Also, an abandoned building may have holes in the floors where utilities may have been in the past.
“With any structure, the fire itself can be quite dynamic,” Stowe said. “The decision was made to be aggressive and go offensive on this one.”
The fire did extend to the floor and adjacent apartment, but there were no reports of any injuries.
Stowe said 20 to 30 firefighters responded and they already had most of the hot spots taken care of, but “the investigation will go on through the night.”
