3-Alarm Fire Destroys 10 Units At Provo Condominium Building

PROVO, Utah – Crews responded to a three-alarm fire at the North Canyon Condos and 43 residents had to be evacuated, authorities said.

The fire happened in the area of 2200 North and Canyon Road Thanksgiving morning.

“All occupants are displaced for the foreseeable future,” according to officials with Provo Fire & Rescue.

Ten units were a complete loss and the fire caused an estimated $3-4 million worth of damage to 48 units in the structure.

Estimated loss 3 to 4 million structure damage,Cause still under investigation but possibly electrical in the attic.
There are 48 units with 10 that are a total loss. All occupants are displaced for the foreseeable future. pic.twitter.com/ztfBsHBIYd

— ProvoFireRescue (@provofire) November 28, 2019

The building was at one point nearly fully involved, said Provo City Fire Department Capt. Dean York. Crews responding to the scene called for additional resources due to the size of the fire and the size of the building.

“It was scary,“ said resident Heather Daley. “I just saw all of the firetrucks; just tons of lights. And then, all of a sudden I hear boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, right on my door.”

She ran to the door, looked out and saw a couple of police officers.

“They might have been kicking in the unit’s door next to me trying to get the occupants out,“ she said.

Daley ran to open an exterior door to let in firefighters.

“I ran back to my unit, and the police officer said you can grab one thing,” Daley said. “Grab it right now. The building is on fire.”

She didn’t think twice. Daley grabbed her pet, a bearded dragon named Bowser, and ran.

“This was an aggressive fire,” York said.

Firefighters had the fire knocked down before 10:30 a.m., York said, and crews on scene are currently working on hot spots.

Forty-three residents were evacuated to a nearby meetinghouse for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where the Red Cross was assisting.

A couple of local restaurants, including Cupbop Korean BBQ, brought food to the evacuation center. Others in the community came by to offer places to stay in their homes. The Red Cross said nobody will stay at the evacuation center tonight. They have hotel vouchers for those who don’t have a place to stay.

“Really amazing to see that happen,” York said.

It wasn’t the kind of Thanksgiving that any of the residents were expecting.

“This is a sad time for these people that are going to be displaced,” York said.

“I spent all day cooking pies and Thanksgiving dinner, and it’s just all in the fridge and on the counter,” Daley said.

Daley and her bearded dragon will be staying with her father for the time being.

“I’m sad, but, at the same time, I’m grateful because everybody got out safe,” she said.

She said she was thankful for the way the community stepped up.

“It warms my heart to see how many people in the community have been able to reach out and help each other,“ Daley said.

York said the cause of the fire is still under investigation, but it possibly started from an electrical issue in the attic or on one of the top floors.

“There will be some people that will be displaced for months as they have to rebuild the roof and possibly some of these apartments. The majority of the damage is to the roof,” York said, adding that even the units that were unaffected could have sustained water damage from the firefight.

York said there was little time to get the mix of residents — ranging from some BYU students to a woman in her 90s — out of the building.

“Pretty amazing that they were able to go in and make sure everybody was alerted, and get them out,” he said.

Two police officers reportedly sustained cuts as they broke glass during the evacuation. No other injuries were reported.

Multiple agencies responded from Provo, Orem and Springville.