Dozens evacuated after Salt Lake City apartment fire

SALT LAKE CITY — Dozens of people have been evacuated after a Tuesday morning fire at a Salt Lake City apartment building, authorities reported.

The fire started shortly before 7 a.m. at 120 S. 300 East, according to Salt Lake City Fire Capt. Anthony Burton.

Fire crews arrived at the scene to find heavy smoke in the upper floors of the building that was coming through the roof, Burton said. The fire developed to heavy smoke and flames, and crews began aggressively fighting the fire, he added.

Crews evacuated the building, as well as two or three four-story apartment buildings adjacent to the building that caught fire.

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By 8 a.m., fire crews had begun to knock down the blaze, but were still set up in case they needed to revert to a more aggressive firefighting strategy, Burton said.

One firefighter was injured, but is OK and being evaluated by medical personnel, Burton said.

Anywhere between 50 and 100 people were evacuated from the surrounding area, Burton said. Most of the pets were also removed from the building, he said.

Investigators were at the scene of the fire and were working to determine the cause as of 8 a.m.

Salt Lake City firefighters have battled several blazes in the city lately, though there is no apparent connection between them, Burton said.

“Sometimes in fire service things come in waves,” he said. “It’s an unpredictable business.”

No further information about the fire was immediately available.

Contributing: Mary Richards, KSL NewsRadio

We're working on gathering more information and will be updating this story throughout the day.

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