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MIDVALE -- A large fire at a Midvale apartment complex has left 20 people out of their homes. Firefighters say the blaze spread quickly and damaged all 12 units in the complex.
Crews have now condemned the building, saying it will eventually have to be torn down.
Lots of smoke, that's all I can say. As soon as I opened the door, I looked up and there was a big flame.
–Reeve Borden, apartment resident
#bord_quote
The fire started at the Royal Ridge apartment complex near 1000 East and 7400 South around 1:30 a.m. A resident on the third floor reported seeing smoke coming from the balcony of his apartment.
The man quickly called 911 and woke up four other people in his apartment. They went door to door, alerting other residents while the fire continued to spread.
"Lots of smoke, that's all I can say. As soon as I opened the door, I looked up and there was a big flame. It was huge," said resident Reeve Borden.
"All of a sudden, the neighbors started pounding on my door; and they said there was a fire, so I grabbed what I could and got out," resident Dave Klein said.
When firefighters arrived, they too found huge flames shooting from the roof and found fire spreading from unit to unit.
Midvale fire quickly called for a third alarm as the fire continued to spread. The result was help from five other agencies and over 60 firefighters.
It's a very traumatic event to have a fire in your residence, as you might expect. People are shaken up and almost numb.
–Laina Roundy, American Red Cross
#round_quote
With all those extra ladder trucks, crews finally got the blaze under control. But by then, any hope of saving the building was too late.
"A lot of them lost everything. If you look around, many of them you'll see without shoes on. They maybe have a pet with them, and that's all they got out with," said Red Cross volunteer Laina Roundy.
The Red Cross is helping the displaced families, including one family with a 7-day-old baby. The organization will help them each find food, clothing and shelter -- for some, even emotional help.
"It's a very traumatic event to have a fire in your residence, as you might expect. People are shaken up and almost numb," Roundy said.
Between personal belongings and the building itself, damage is estimated at $1 million. Residents are hopeful, however, that once the investigation into the cause is wrapped up, a few of them may be able to recover some personal belongings.
"There's a lot of water in the building, smoke damage in the building, but there will be some personal items that people can recover," said Midvale Fire Chief Stephen Higgs.
Investigators believe the fire originated on the balcony of a third-story apartment, but they still don't know what started it.
Luckily, there are no reports of injuries.
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Story compiled with information from Shara Park and Randall Jeppesen.
