TOOELE, Utah — Dozens of residents were displaced from their homes in Tooele Wednesday morning after a fire broke out in an apartment building.
"Before we could do anything they were banging on our doors telling us to get out, get out," said resident Sara Ruiz.
The fire broke out at the Kirk Apartments, located at 57 West Vine Street.
"We had a structure fire confined to one apartment on the third floor of [the] building," explained Chief Matt McCoy with the Tooele City Fire Department. "There was no extension but we did evacuate the building for precautionary reasons."
The apartment where the fire sparked will likely be a total loss, McCoy added.
Photos and video from the scene show multiple fire engines in the area working to contain the flames inside.
The cause of the fire is not yet known and is under investigation, but it led to a chaotic scene as a reported 60 residents were displaced from their apartments.
"The first time when it went off, we went downstairs, and they said false alarm, there wasn't really a fire, so I went up started combing my hair and that's when they started banging on the door," recalled resident Emmanuel Ruiz. "I still have my comb on me, that's how much we were in a rush to get out the door!"
One of the challenges crews faced was the age of the building.
"Definitely an old structure, it was built in 1928, being on the third floor, those pose some challenges for us," said McCoy. "The main thing was getting people evacuated quickly."
No injuries were reported and the Red Cross assisted at the scene to help residents, but Sara Ruiz said the smoke didn't help her asthma.
"I've been struggling with it for about a week, but now the smoke is making it even worse," she said.
Like many, Ruiz wonders when she'll be allowed back into her home. Sadly, McCoy says the apartment where that bore the brunt of the fire is expected to be a total loss, and he knows it could have been a lot worse.
"Our crews worked great," McCoy explained. "We had two other agencies come in and assist and everyone worked very well together."
