Hundreds evacuated in Midvale apartment fire

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Hundreds evacuated from Midvale apartments due to fire on Friday morning.
American Red Cross provided shelter and meals to displaced residents and pets.
Unified Fire Authority investigating the blaze's cause; community support is evident.

MIDVALE — An apartment complex caught fire Friday, according to the Unified Fire Authority, forcing the evacuation of 220 units.

Smoke was spotted above the North Union Apartments, at 942 E. North Union Avenue, at about 7:50 a.m. Building residents were evacuated, along with some pets. Many stood on surrounding street corners watching firefighters tackle the blaze.

"I've lived in this apartment complex for almost four years, and it has become my home. Seeing it being damaged like this is pretty scary," said Carlos Flores, who lives on the complex's fourth floor. "It feels bad. It feels horrible."

Fire crews pictured outside the North Union Apartments. (Photo: Kai Johnson)

The American Red Cross was assisting those displaced in a temporary shelter at the north end of Hillcrest High School. The shelter had been moved to Union Middle School by Friday afternoon.

The American Red Cross said it provided lunch to approximately 200 people who had been evacuated on Friday.

One firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion, and one resident was treated at the temporary shelter for an unknown medical episode.

Andrew Adams, KSL

Nate Cochran with the Unified Fire Authority said smoke was localized at first but intensified by 8:45 a.m. when flames could be seen along the building's roofline. Heavy smoke was seen coming up through the trash chute, but the exact cause of the blaze remains unknown.

Of the complex's 223 units, 220 were occupied and safely evacuated.

Midvale Mayor Dustin Gettel called the fire a "tragedy" for the community. He urged business owners or anyone else wanting to support evacuees to reach out to the city via email at recovery@midvaleut.gov.

Firefighters respond to an apartment fire at 942 E. North Union Avenue, near Hillcrest High School in Midvale, on Friday. (Photo: Tess Crowley, Deseret News)

After evacuations, some residents of the apartment said they were too emotional to talk, and others said they couldn't believe what they had woken up to.

Sutton Bowers, who has lived at the complex for three years, said he helped another resident save a cat as evacuations were underway. He said he was also able to grab a few possessions from his apartment.

"I got the important stuff," he told KSL. "We're out, we're healthy. Our dog is fine. If we lose our possessions, that is just life, unfortunately. But we're here. We're alive."

Danielle Manning said the sight of the fire and its aftermath was too much to look at.

"I had to walk away a couple of times because I'm like ... I just can't look at this, you know," Manning said.

Manning said when tenants have their whole lives invested into where they live, it is hard to sum up the devastation. Still, by evening, some residents said they were already feeling community support.

"Hugging people, strangers, the community, like, they've been absolutely amazing," Manning said.

That didn't mean the next steps were clear, however, Manning said.

"It's surreal, for real," Manning said. "You never know what's going to happen in life, you know."

Contributing: Andrew Adams and Cameron Elliot

Correction: A previous version of this story stated the fire may have originated in the trash chute, but officials clarified the place of origin could not immediately be confirmed.

This story will be updated. To be notified about updates, please click Follow This Story below on the KSL app.

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The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

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Daniel Woodruff

Daniel Woodruff is thrilled to join KSL as a reporter and fill-in anchor. In many ways, it’s a return to his roots as Daniel started his broadcast journalism career as an intern at KSL, learning from many of the reporters and anchors he grew up watching. Born in Salt Lake City and raised in Provo, Daniel attended Provo High School and has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communications from Brigham Young University. He worked as a reporter at a FOX affiliate in Indiana, followed by several years as the primary weeknight anchor at an ABC affiliate in Wisconsin. In 2014, Daniel and his family returned home to Utah where he spent nearly seven years as a reporter at KUTV, along with a stint working in public relations. In January 2024, he joined the KSL news team. Daniel has covered many high-profile stories in his career including the Great Recession and its effects, the Wisconsin recall elections, the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the Westminster Bridge terror attack in London, the Dakota Access Pipeline Protests in North Dakota, the Brian Head fire, the Las Vegas mass shooting, and the Lori Vallow Daybell murder trial. He has also reported extensively on Utah politics and covered multiple legislative sessions. When he’s not at work, Daniel enjoys running, reading non-fiction, trying new restaurants (especially Indian food), and traveling. He met his wife on a blind date. They have three children.