This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Salt Lake City firefighters snuffed out a large fire Thursday night at an Avenues apartment complex.
The three-alarm blaze broke out a little after 10:30 p.m. at the Fountain View Apartments at 230 North F St., said Scott Freitag, spokesman for the Salt Lake City Fire Department.
"When firefighters arrived they found heavy fire and smoke," he said.
The fire started in the boiler/maintenance room on top of the four-story building, but was contained to that room and did not spread to any of the apartment units, Freitag said.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze in about 20 minutes, he said.
All 24 apartments were evacuated as firefighters fought the blaze; nobody was injured in the fire, Freitag said. The apartment below the boiler room received some water damage, but no apartment sustained any smoke or fire damage.
Elise Zimmerman lives across the street from the apartments and was driving home when she noticed flames coming from the top of the building.
After she called 911, the fire "got substantially bigger. It just took off," Zimmerman said.
"Our houses are real close together here, so it is always a big concern," she said.
The 35 residents of the apartments were allowed to go back for their belongings, but nobody was permitted to stay overnight in the building. The Red Cross was helping people find accommodations.
Freitag said the fire was still being investigated and a cause had yet to be determined.