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(KSL News) A three-alarm fire torched some West Valley apartments tonight, putting dozens of people out of their homes and burning practically everything they own.
The apartments are located at about 800 West and 3900 South. The second and third floors are completely gutted, and the fire isn't even out yet. Crews are using ladder trucks to keep an eye on the fire and put hot spots out.
Firefighters from across the valley responded to help put it out. They were called to the apartments around 8:00 and immediately faced a problem -- a gas leak. The gas company got on scene as quickly as possible and turned it off.
There are no injuries known at this time and no one is reported missing. One floor is not safe enough for firefighters to check, so they haven't been able to clear it yet, but they don't believe anyone was in there.
Witness Eva Smith said, "A whole bunch of kids and a lot of people, they started saying that there was a fire. They started pounding on the door, saying, 'Fire, fire, you need to get out!'"
Another witness, LDS missionary Elder Clark, said, "The flames are 20 feet high, and you could feel that heat from about 50 feet away. And everyone was out trying to clear the building as fast as they could."
Firefighters don't know the cause of the fire at this point. They will be investigating it over the next few days.
The Red Cross is helping the 13 families that lived in the building.
