Residents return home after Murray apartment fire
Oct 10, 2022, 6:51 PM
MURRAY, Utah — Residents of the Cottonwood Creek Apartments are now back inside their homes after being displaced by Friday’s fire.
“I don’t know if it’s the anxiety or the smoke, it just feels like it’s been compressed in my chest and it feels like a big weight has been lifted,” Ace Dennis, who lives in the complex, said.
Friday night, Murray police officers rescued four people and multiple pets from the fire, while firefighters made quick work containing it.
“It was chaos,” Dennis said.
Most of the apartments weren’t damaged, but residents were still asked to leave for the weekend.
“We had to last minute scramble to find a place,” Dennis said. “We didn’t have money because we just paid rent, so we had to ask people to help us.”
Dennis said management offered to reimburse them $100 a day, and some residents like Kimberly Nielson got help from the Red Cross.
“It was so helpful or else I would have been in our car,” Nielson said.
Nielson said she was given a gift card to help with the expenses, but to save money, they stayed at a different hotel each night.
“We only were given so much money. With food and gas and things, we were trying to save money where we can,” Nielson said.
As residents are now able to move back in, they are thankful that everyone’s OK.
“You don’t really realize how much your community means to you until disaster strikes and you’re all scattered. Then, when you’re home, it feels nice to be back with everyone,” she said.
