Hundreds evacuated in Midvale apartment fire

KEY TAKEAWAYS

A fire at Midvale's North Union Apartments led to 220 evacuations.
Smoke was first reported at 7:50 a.m. with flames visible by 8:45 a.m.

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 their 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."

The American Red Cross was assisting those who were displaced at a temporary shelter at the north end of Hillcrest High School. The organization said it provided lunch to approximately 200 people who had been evacuated.

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 coming from 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.

Sutton Bowers, who has lived at the complex for three years, said he helped another resident save his 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."

Contributing: Cameron Elliot

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by KSL 5 TV (@kslnews)

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.

Photos

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.

Most recent Salt Lake County stories

Related topics

Salt Lake CountyUtahPolice & Courts

Joe Wirthlin

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.