Fire strikes condominiums twice in South Salt Lake

SOUTH SALT LAKE — Two families were displaced after fire struck the same condominiums twice overnight.

The first incident happened about 9 p.m. Monday at a condo near 3300 South and 700 East. South Salt Lake Fire Chief Ron Morris said the cause of that fire was an accidental kitchen fire.

Smoke from the fire spread to an adjacent condo, forcing the residents of both units to evacuate. One went to stay with other family members and the other took shelter offered by the Red Cross, Morris said.

About 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, fire crews were called back to the same units. Morris said the older condos used to have flat roofs until the owner built a pitched roof over the original structure, leaving many "void" areas on the roof.

Some of the embers from the first fire apparently settled in one of those voids and "smoldered for quite some time" before eventually re-igniting the fire, he said.

Damage to the condominium units is estimated at $100,000. Morris called one unit a complete loss while the other suffered only smoke damage.

— Pat Reavy Twitter: DNewsCrimeTeam