Dozens Evacuated After Fire At Murray Apartment Complex
Jul 1, 2021, 5:57 AM | Updated: 8:35 pm
MURRAY, Utah — Dozens of people were evacuated due to a fire at Stillwater Apartments in Murray Thursday morning.
Officials said firefighters responded to the complex, which is located at 5560 South Vine Street, before 3 a.m.
Crews on scene added the fire was not caused by fireworks but is under investigation.
Chief Jon Harris with the Murray Fire Department said two suspicious individuals were initially being questioned by authorities. One of those individuals has since been cleared and released, and police were still searching for one additional suspect.
Officials said the suspects don’t live in the apartment where the fire started, but are friends or family members with someone who does.
The fire started in one apartment and spread to the entire building, which was evacuated. Officials said around 50 people had been displaced.
“The smoke alarms weren’t going off yet, so we are kinda concerned about that,” said Jordan Watt, who was woken up by his dog after the fire started.
Watt’s girlfriend made it out safely with their dogs, but they didn’t imagine they’d never be able to return home again.
“Pretty stressed out because we got a baby on the way,” Watt said. “And all of our baby stuff is gone.”
If you want to help the young couple out — here is a verified GoFundMe.
Direct payments can be made on their Venmo to @ Jazmin-Dealmeida-1
— Morgan Wolfe (@MorganWolfeKSL) July 1, 2021
A second couple, Brianna Cisneros and Matthew Evans are also expecting a baby and lost everything in the fire. Their family has set up a GoFundMe as well to help after all of their baby stuff was destroyed in the fire.
KSL TV’s Morgan Wolfe asked the local fire marshal about the fire detectors and was told the building was built in the 1960s, and building codes didn’t require a centralized smoke detector system or sprinklers at that time.
“When you have sprinklers, they truly do make a difference these days,” said Joseph Mittelan with the Murray Fire Department.
Firefighters estimated damages were near $500,000 and no injuries had been reported.
This is the third early morning structure fire emergency crews have responded to this week in Utah. On Monday, a five-alarm fire broke out at a Salt Lake City apartment complex while a four-alarm fire destroyed an under-construction apartment building and several homes in Ogden.
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