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Several families are homeless after a fire raged through the Eagle's Landing Apartments near 600 South and 1700 West. It happened last night around 9:00. One of those families made it out alive thanks to the father's heroic acts.
Jacob Moreira, his wife and 9-month-old son live in a top floor apartment. Jacob said he had only one choice to escape the fire, and that was to climb down three stories.
The family was watching TV last night when the fire began. Jacob Moreira said, "We heard people screaming outside, screaming really bad. We opened the door, and the flames come through, huge flames, like a big monster."
He grabbed his 9-month-old son and went to the front balcony. People below yelled for him to drop his baby, but Moreira said he didn't feel it was safe enough. He said, "I kind of freak out because drop the baby from some level, it's a big huge decision."
So he ran to the back balcony and climbed down three stories, carrying his baby to safety.
When he realized his wife was still in the apartment, Moreira went back in. He said, by then, she was overcome by the smoke and couldn't move. But he was able to save her too.
"What I do is put her on my back and I hold her hand right here with me, and I just climbed down like I did with my son," he said. "I know I thought that going back was going to hurt me, but I said at least I do something."
The family was treated at the hospital and is now staying at a local motel. Seven other families who live in that building in the Eagle Landing Apartments also lost their homes.
Neighbors who saw the fire start last night say a barbecue was left burning on the balcony of one of the lower apartments. They say it only took minutes for it to get out of control. By the time firefighters arrived, everyone, including the Moreira family, was out.
He returned to his apartment this morning. He was able to recover about two garbage bags full of items including a couple of photo albums, his car keys and his wife's wedding dress. Amazingly, the dress didn't look like it was touched by the fire because it was under some other items in the closet. He said it meant a lot to his wife. "She was, every 5 minutes, crying about it, saying nobody was going to believe us that we got married," he said.
Everything else was destroyed, leaving the family with virtually nothing. But he's not dwelling on the loss because he still has his wife and 9-month-old son. He said, "That's the most important thing because that's the only baby I have, and he's a great kid."
The cause of the fire is under investigation. Neighbors who saw the fire start say the cause was a barbecue left burning on a balcony. The estimated cost of the fire is $500,000.
Moreira said he does roofing work, and that's why he wasn't afraid of heights and could climb well.
E-mail: mgiauque@ksl.com
E-mail: syi@ksl.com
