Officials seek cause of Ogden condo fire

OGDEN — Investigators worked Monday to determine what caused a blaze that left 83 people in a 30-unit condominium complex homeless over the weekend.

Crews began sifting through the charred building at 2325 Quincy Ave. on Monday morning, and by the afternoon, they confirmed that the fire was not suspicious.

"We think that the fire started in the attic, and we are working with insurance companies to rule out electrical causes," said Deputy Ogden Fire Chief Chad Tucker. "We will need to do some testing to determine exactly what caused the fire."

The American Red Cross offered immediate water, food and clothing to 47 people Sunday, but an overnight shelter wasn't needed because residents in the area opened their homes for displaced people.

"The outpouring from the community made it more appealing for many of them to stay with families who opened their doors for them," said Fred Henderson, a Red Cross disaster director. The Red Cross placed one family in a motel for the evening.

Henderson said the Red Cross remained busy as many apartment dwellers who didn't visit the local chapter office on Sunday flocked there Monday seeking help. The chapter was putting up two families at a local motel; the rest had been cared for from "a very generous community," Henderson said. "Even community strangers had welcomed people into their homes."

Fire officials invited tenants whose homes didn't pose a safety hazard to remove salvageable belongings throughout the afternoon.

Some residents of the complex have complained that the old apartment building, which over the past few years was converted into individually owned condominiums, was not stocked with enough fire-safety equipment.

"We have heard some complaints from some of the tenants," Tucker said. "The difficult thing about the building is that each condominium has an individual owner, so we are still trying to get information from all of those owners."

Tucker said there were fire extinguishers in the building, and some smoke detectors could still be heard going off Monday.

Troy Koltermann, 30, who has owned his condominium for three years, wasn't in the building during the fire, but he got a phone call from his homeowners association and the police to make sure he was safe.

"It is hard to explain it," he said of his reaction to the fire. "It is a sense of numbness. I don't think it has set in yet. I lost my house and everything I own."

Koltermann, an Iraq war veteran, is staying with his parents in Lehi in the meantime, but he says he has to find a place to live soon so that he can get back to work as an employee and active member in the Army National Guard.

"I am luckier then a lot of people, I think, because I work for a good, understanding organization that is there for me," he said. "So I am sure I have had it luckier than a lot of other people affected by this."

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