SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, June 16, 2021 (Gephardt Daily) — An arrest has been made after a 3-alarm fire early Sunday morning in the area of Ashton Avenue and South Highland Drive in Salt Lake City.
“A 37 year-old-male was arrested in connection with the 1104 E. Ashton Avenue fire and was booked in the Salt Lake County Jail for aggravated arson,” said a tweet from Salt Lake City Fire Department. “No further details will be released at this time to preserve the investigation and judicial process.”
SLCFD Battalion Chief Dan Walker described the structure as an office building.
The blaze was reported at 2 a.m. and there were a number of collapses in the structure, rendering it unsafe for crews to enter at first.
Walker said a nearby apartment building was threatened and residents were evacuated.
Crews worked quickly to protect nearby homes. Aside from windows on the evacuated apartments being broken out by the intense heat, there were no reports of damage to adjacent buildings.
Burning embers sparked a number of spot fires along I-80 in the area, which crews were quick to put out. The fire department also deployed incident management teams along the interstate to help guide drivers through the heavy smoke.
One firefighter was taken to the hospital suffering from smoke inhalation, according to Walker. There were no other reports of injuries.
Gephardt Daily will continue to update this story as soon as new information is available.
