Grease fire burns Orem apartments

OREM — Police say a pan of grease left on a burner started an early-morning fire that gutted an apartment complex in Orem.

Around 3:14 a.m. Tuesday, a woman woke up in her bottom-level apartment at 843 N. Main because it was hot, then quickly realized her home was filled with smoke and flames in the kitchen.

She woke her three children, ages 5 to 18, and they were able to get out and call 911, said Orem Police arson investigator Sgt. Randy Crowther.

The family was evacuating their neighbors as fire crews arrived.

The initial kitchen fire was extinguished fairly quickly, Crowther said. But he said hot spots and flare-ups in the walls took longer to extinguish and caused serious damage to all four apartments in the building.

The initial apartment had a mount for a smoke detector but did not have one in place, Crowther said. The family had just recently moved into the unit.

No one was injured, but damage to the fourplex is estimated at around $250,000 to $300,000, and the building will need extensive work before it can be occupied again, he said.

The Red Cross immediately got involved to help the 13 displaced people from five families. The families will be able to stay in hotels at discounted rates and get help from the Red Cross with food and clothing.

— Sara Israelsen-Hartley