WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, Feb. 15, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — A candle left burning in a bedroom may have caused an apartment fire Wednesday night in West Valley City.
The damage, estimated at $15,000 to $20,000, was contained to one unit of the Overlook Apartments, at 4612 S. 2930 West. West Valley City crews responded to the fire at 11:30 p.m.
“Crews arrived and they found a lot of smoke coming out of an upstairs apartment,” said Bob Fitzgerald, battalion chief, West Valley City Fire. “They did an aggressive, interior, fast attack on the fire, and were able to knock the fire down.”
“(The apartment’s occupant) had a candle in the bedroom, which was the room of origin,” Fitzgerald said. “There’s a lot of smoke and fire damage to that apartment. Crews did a really good job so it didn’t spread and do more damage.”
Several apartment complex residents tried to put out the fire with extinguishers, he said, “but the fire was too big to let them in to do that.”
No one was injured, Fitzgerald said. The one displaced occupant planned to spend the night with family or friends.
“Never leave a candle unattended,” Fitzgerald said. “If you’re using any type of fire in your place — candle, fireplace, anything like that — just be very, very cautious.”
