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There are new details on an apartment fire in Midvale over the weekend. The Midvale Fire Marshal says he now knows where the fire started, and damage to the apartment complex is worse than previously thought.
Midvale Fire Marshal Brad Larson says the fire started on a balcony on the second level of the complex. Larson says he hasn't been able to pinpoint exactly what caused it. He says there was a barbecue on the balcony, but it had not been used that day. Larson also says he is not ruling out that it still could have been something electrical.
Thirty-five people were displaced Saturday morning by the fire at the Brighton Place apartments, 145 W. Plumtree Lane.
Fire officials say the fire damaged seven units and destroyed five others. When crews arrived, residents were evacuating the building. Several people, including a group of teenage boys, were going door to door trying to wake neighbors who were still sleeping.
Resident Alan Cook said, "Bless their hearts, these teenage boys who were running to every apartment and not just banging on the doors but going back repeatedly. They are heroes."
Another resident, Jamie Kilgore, said, "I came out here and jumped over that fence, and I tried to help people get out. I knocked on windows, trying to get this lady out."
Residents reported seeing and hearing explosions at the complex. The fire marshal says there was a balcony with camping equipment on it. In that equipment was ammunition and propane tanks.
Wasatch Properties, the company that manages the building, found temporary housing for all the displaced residents. They are staying in other apartments within the complex. The American Red Cross also helped by providing necessities for the victims.
Larson says the damage to the complex is about $800,000, not $200,000 as previously reported. Investigators are still trying to determine the exact cause of the fire, but because of the amount of damage, Larson says it could be a while before they have one.
E-mail: spark@ksl.com
