Neighbors calling for fire prevention requirements after lumberyard fire


Save Story
Leer en espaƱol

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

A lumberyard in Murray went up in flames last night, causing about $1 million in damage. Today, neighbors are raising questions about safety. This is the third large business fire in the last few weeks.

Neighbors calling for fire prevention requirements after lumberyard fire

Neighbors living near the CECO Concrete Construction company at 184 E. Gordon Ln. (4150 S.) were forced to evacuate when the fire started. They say companies like this should do more when it comes to prevention.

Cynthia Packer's apartment is just a spark's distance from where flames ripped through a neighboring concrete construction company last night. "Huge black smoke. The flames were really high. They were shooting up everywhere," she said.

Neighbors calling for fire prevention requirements after lumberyard fire

The fire damaged much of the building, tools and equipment. Stacks of lumber made it tough for firefighters. "On arrival, fire crews found flames coming through the roof at about 40 feet," said Capt. Jay Fearnley, of United Fire Authority.

Recently, two other companies housing combustible materials have fallen victim to large fires. Less than two weeks ago, a metal recycling company in Ogden lost five structures. Days later, flames destroyed a pallet company in Salt Lake City. Each fire leaves questions about prevention.

Neighbors calling for fire prevention requirements after lumberyard fire

In Murray, the cause of the fire is still under investigation. But angry neighbors, temporarily forced from their homes, say CECO could have done more to protect them. "Our place could have gone up. Our belongings would have been lost, everything," Packer said. "There's no sprinkler systems. There's just, there's nothing."

Firefighters say businesses must pass annual fire inspections, and despite storage of combustible materials, prevention methods, such as sprinkler systems, are not always mandated.

"If they had [sprinklers], it could have prevented the fire from getting out of control and could have prevented a lot of property loss. But they were not required to have sprinklers," Fearnley said.

CECO Concrete Construction declined our request for an interview today. Unified Fire Authority says the company is up to date on their inspections.

E-mail: wjohnson@ksl.com

Related links

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Whit Johnson

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast