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MURRAY — An overnight fire in Murray went from being deemed suspicious to possibly having electrical roots.
The fire broke out 2:30 a.m. Tuesday and gutted an abandoned 5,000-square-foot warehouse near 4200 South and 150 West. Crews from Unified Fire Authority, Murray and West Jordan responded and prevented the fire from spreading to nearby buildings, according to Murray Fire Battalion Chief Mike Dykman.
A small fire reignited around 6:30 a.m. but was extinguished by a portable water can.
The building was called a complete loss.
Because the building was abandoned, investigators were initially concerned that the blaze may have been set by someone inside the building. Officials indicated in early reports that they were worried someone may have gotten caught in the flames.
In the morning light, however, investigators saw that the blaze appeared instead to be a product of downed power lines, according to Murray deputy fire marshal Pat Killion.
It's making more and more sense to me that we've got an electrical problem.
–Pat Killion
Smoke and heat patterns showed that the building started burning at the roof and went down, he said. High- temperature markings on downed power lines and burn patterns around an electrical pole also added to the likelihood of an electrical source. Killion thinks something may have caused the power lines to fall on the building.
"It's making more and more sense to me that we've got an electrical problem," Killion said.
Although crews will still search under larger pieces of roof for people who could have been trapped in the blaze, they were less concerned Tuesday morning that a person was in the building.
Investigators were also planning on using an accelerant- sniffing dog to look into other possible sources of the fire.
More information will be provided as it becomes available.
