Families displaced in early morning fire

SOUTH SALT LAKE — Two families were displaced by an early morning apartment fire Monday.

Just after 2 a.m., an unattended candle caught bedsheets on fire in the basement of a unit at the South Park Apartments, 2200 S. 500 East, said South Salt Lake Fire Chief Steve Foote.

Three people inside the apartment were awakened by the heat and smoke from the quickly spreading fire, he said. Investigators could not confirm whether there were any working smoke detectors in the apartment, Foote said.

"Thankfully they woke up. They were lucky," he said.

A mom, her daughter and a nephew, all adults, suffered minor smoke inhalation but were able to get out. They were treated at the scene but declined to be taken to a hospital, Foote said.

When crews first arrived, they found heavy smoke and fire shooting from a basement window and climbing to the upstairs area. Foote said his department dumped a lot of resources into the fire, knowing the situation could easily have turned into a catastrophe in the old building.

"We're always worried (about victims) that time of the morning," he said. "There's not a lot of fire protection on these (old buildings)."

The family who lived in that unit and the one next door were displaced. The apartment manager found a vacant unit for at least one of the families.

— Pat Reavy