LOCAL NEWS

90 families evacuated after early-morning explosion in Lehi apartment complex

Oct 22, 2024, 10:06 AM | Updated: 8:42 pm

LEHI — Ninety families have been evacuated from an apartment complex after an early-morning explosion Tuesday.

The Lehi Police Department said a couple in the apartment were hurt in the explosion at Lehi Tech Apartments at 200 S. 1350 East.  The wife and husband were both treated for injuries from debris at the complex, and neither were taken to a hospital. The explosion, at approximately 4:10 a.m., caused water damage from a sprinkler system to apartments below the unit where the explosion happened.

Ninety families have been evacuated from an apartment complex after an early-morning explosion Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, at Lehi Tech Apartments. (Jeanteil Livingston, Lehi)

The building will remain evacuated until the fire suppression system is restored and the apartments are deemed safe for reentry,” Lehi police said.

One evacuated resident told KSL TV that he thought it was something bigger.

“I was asleep and then you just kind of hear the whole building shake, and all the alarms were going off,” Demetrius Romero said. “I assumed it was an earthquake. I was like what’s going on right now because it got me out of bed I was confused.”

Police said the circumstances of the explosion seemed suspicious, and an investigation is ongoing.

“Right now it appears that the explosion was caused because something that did happen or caused by inside the apartment,” said Jeanteil Livingston, spokesperson for the city of Lehi. “But we do not know at this time what that cause was. There was no blast. There was no fire, it was more pressure.”

Livingston also said such situations are easy to raise concern over.

“Anytime there is an explosion and you’re not sure the intent of the explosion or exactly where it comes from that’s cause for suspicious,” Livingston said. 

The Red Cross is providing help for those evacuated.

“The Red Cross has addressed the immediate needs of the affected residents, providing essential items such as clothing and food, replacing prescription medications, and securing safe places for them to stay,” The American Red Cross said in a statement.

Red Cross also said that residents from undamaged apartments were later allowed to return, and displaced residents were relocated to empty units by apartment management.

“The residents of the unit where the explosion occurred have not contacted the Red Cross for assistance,” the organization said.


Dan Rascon contributed to this article. 

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90 families evacuated after early-morning explosion in Lehi apartment complex