Fire rips through Murray condominiums causing $1M in damage


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MURRAY — Romney Duerden was still awake at 2 a.m. Friday when she heard popping noises coming from outside her condo.

"And then I looked out our back window and it was orange. And I thought, 'Oh, that's kind of weird.' So I ran outside and I looked to the right, it was like the two units were completely engulfed in flames. It was like a wall of fire — just completely engulfed, out the windows, cars were on fire, coming out everything," she said.

Just after 2 a.m., a large fire ripped through 10 condominiums and town houses at the Three Fountains complex, 725 E. 4800 South. Six units suffered heavy damage and were considered total losses. Two units suffered moderate damage and two others minor damage, said Murray Deputy Fire Chief Jon Harris.

An early damage estimate, which included the vehicles lost when a carport caught fire, was about $1 million. At least four vehicles were destroyed.

But remarkably, all 30 tenants were able to escape injury.

"The biggest credit probably goes to Murray Police Department because they arrived here first and started banging on doors and getting everybody out. So, really miraculous considering there's a large retirement population here. You gotta feel very good we got everybody out," Harris said.

When firefighters first arrived on scene, four condominiums were already completely engulfed.

"The cars were on fire. And they were really on fire. They weren't just on fire, they were really on fire," said tenant Todd Vacher. "It was amazing how fast it went. It was interesting and not a lot of fun for everybody."

The fire eventually made its way into the attic of the structure. But because of the sturdier, older construction materials, firefighters were able to enter the condos to make sure everyone had gotten out.

Some elderly residents escaped their homes wearing robes and were assisted by other residents. Not all of the residents were elderly or of retirement age, however. Vacher said one family just welcomed a baby born prematurely.

"They don't even have a place to bring the baby home to when it gets out of the hospital," he said.

Vacher said Friday's fire was the first he could ever remember at the complex.

Investigators officially labeled the cause of the fire as undetermined. Harris said the magnitude of destruction caused by the fire made it untenable to pinpoint a cause or spot of origin. He added, however, that investigators, with the help of an accelerant-sniffing dog, were unable to find any indications that the fire was intentionally set.

It took approximately 50 firefighters from at least four agencies about 90 minutes to contain the blaze. But the natural gas meters caught fire and it took another hour for a Questar crew to dig up a gas line and "pinch it off" to stop meters from burning, Harris said.

Because the gas line was shut off, other nearby condos not burned in the fire were without gas Friday.

By midmorning Friday, firefighters helped residents of the condos that suffered only minor damage go back into their residences to get critically needed items such as medications.

Contributing: Shara Park, Ben Lockhart

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