Fire damages Salt Lake apartment complex

SALT LAKE CITY — About 35 tenants were displaced from their apartments Thursday night as crews battled a three-alarm fire.

The fire at 230 N. F St. (450 East) was reported about 10:40 a.m. by a resident who lives across the street from the complex.

"Upon arrival, firefighters found a lot of heavy fire, smoke coming from the top of the apartment complex as people were evacuating," said Salt Lake fire spokesman Scott Freitag.

A three-alarm fire was called as a precaution, but the fire was actually brought under control in 20 minutes and contained to a boiler and maintenance room on the roof of the four-story structure where the fire was believed to have started, Freitag said.

"There's no smoke or fire damage in any of the apartments, only some water damage in the apartment directly below where the fire started," he said.

But because crews were unsure how the fire started, all 24 units were forced to find alternative housing Thursday night. The Red Cross was also on scene to help displaced residents.

Tenants were escorted back into their apartments by firefighters Thursday night to grab personal items they needed for the evening.

— Pat Reavy Twitter: DNewsCrimeTeam