Seconds before Anthony Richards lost everything he owned to a South Salt Lake apartment fire Monday evening, he said he remembered being overwhelmed by lighter fluid fumes.

"I couldn't believe how strong it was," Richards said as he stood 50 yards from his still-smoking apartment. "I leaned over my balcony and yelled, 'Are you having lighter fluid for dinner down there?' "

That's when Richards saw the rolling flames scorching through the apartment directly below his at the four-story Villa Chablis apartment and condominium complex at 246 E. Helm Avenue (3645 South).

Richards dashed from his apartment, leaving everything behind to join a few other neighbors already knocking and opening doors in the approximate 30-unit building while yelling, "Fire!"

By the time South Salt Lake and Unified Fire Authority fire crews quenched the blaze about an hour after it started, about 100 residents had been evacuated and at least five families were told they would not be allowed back into their homes.

South Salt Lake Fire Chief Steve Foote requested help for victims from the Red Cross, which was arranging accommodations for residents from at least five of the units.

The "fully charged" fire caused about $100,000 damage, Foote said.

Although the cause of the fire is still being investigated, along with whether an accelerant may have been used, several neighbors at the scene say they believe it was intentionally set.

The man who lives in the apartment where the fire started was seen "ranting and going crazy" when he got home and noticed a note apartment management had left on his door, said a woman who did not want to be identified in fear of retaliation. "He was so mad."

A man from the company who manages the complex was on scene but declined to comment on the fire or the status of the renter, who had only lived there for about a month.

Two witnesses remember seeing the man about an hour and a half before the apartment caught fire, but he was not home when firefighters arrived.

"All I can say right now is we're calling this fire suspicious," Foote said. "We've got a lot of statements from neighbors, and we're going to be working through all this."

e-mail: jhancock@desnews.com