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Investigators have located the body of a man who was unaccounted for after a 3-alarm fire swept through a West Jordan building Friday afternoon.
Police are not releasing the man's name or any information about him at this time. Officers are now trying to contact his next of kin.
The fire was at Adroit Screw Machine Products at 3450 W. 8500 South in West Jordan, across the street from Terra Linda Elementary School.
The first alarm went out at 12:10. There were three employees in the building at the time. Two of them got out, but the third was unable to.
The two employees who made it out thought their colleague was behind them. They went back in and tried to rescue their co-worker. That's when they were injured, receiving burns on their hands and arms. They were treated on scene.
Firefighters had trouble getting into the building to look for the missing employee.
"Our initial firefighters made entry to look for this person. They made it about 8 feet inside the door, and we pulled them out because of the roof being on fire. And it was shortly thereafter that the roof did collapse," said McElreath. The man who died was 25 feet from the front door and couldn't make it out.
A firefighter also suffered second-degree burns when hot ash went down the back of his coat.
Firefighters say the flames were intense, and witnesses agree.
"I was just leaving base and I saw black smoke. And when I came over to the school here, I saw flames and lots of commotion," witness Troy Wanlass said.
Karen Hansen, who also witnessed the fire, told us, "The flames were really high. They were way up there, and you could see them through the trees and everything. It was black, solid black."
Investigators are trying to determine a cause. The employees in the building at the time say the fire may have started in a machine or other piece of equipment.
Fire crews say the building is a total loss.
Stay with KSL.com, KSL TV and KSL Newsradio 102.7FM/1160AM for the latest updates.
E-mail: wjohnson@ksl.com
E-mail: tcallan@ksl.com
