As a massive fire raged next door, residents of the Sugarmont Apartment complex were jolted awake overnight by security pounding on their doors, ordering them to leave the building immediately.
People who were sleeping just moments earlier were ordered to evacuate with little time left to consider what to wear or take with them.
"I didn't think it was a real fire drill," said Sarah, a resident in the building. "I just moved here from Philadelphia where the fire alarm went off all the time."
When the lights inside her apartment failed to turn on, Sarah quickly realized it might not be a drill. But it was as she was walked down the stairs that the point was driven home.
"Some firemen were coming up and I said is this is a real thing? And they're like, 'Yeah, you need to get out of the building!'" she told FOX 13 News. "So I'm like, 'Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh!' So I ran out and thankfully people directed me where to go."
Only after getting outside and seeing the actual fire shooting flames into the sky just yards away from her building did Sarah take in what was going on.
"I think I was just in shock. I was like, 'Is this really happening right now?'
Not knowing there was a real fire, most residents dressed quickly in sweatpants and sweatshirts before heading out, figuring they'd only be outside for a few minutes. It wasn't until they got downstairs were they able to take in the enormity of the fire.
"I walked outside and it was just massive, and I was like, 'Oh, my gosh, this is for real,'" explained Meredith who lives in the Sugarmont Apartments. "I was freaking out. A lot of people were freaking out."
Meredith originally thought her building was on fire, leading her to think the worst.
"I thought I was going to lose everything," she said.
Many of the apartment evacuees were brought to a temporary evacuation center set up at the Forest Dale Golf Course, but was later moved to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building at 2005 South 900 East.
On Wednesday afternoon, fire officials announced that some residents of the Sugarmont and Vue apartments would remain evacuated as the structure next door is demolished.
With residents possibly not being allowed back into their homes for several hours, the American Red Cross said they would be working with people to take care of long-term sheltering, if needed.
The following units will remain closed to residents until further notice:
Sugarmont Apartments:
871, 771, 671, 571, 471
769, 669, 569, 469
867, 767, 667, 567, 467
865, 765, 665, 565, 465
863, 763, 663, 563, 463
861, 761, 661, 561, 461
751, 651, 551, 451
849, 749, 649, 549, 449
847, 747, 647, 547, 447
828, 728, 628, 528, 428
826, 726, 626, 526, 426
820, 720, 620, 520, 420
818, 718, 618, 518, 418
816, 716, 616, 516, 416
814, 714, 614, 514, 414
712, 612, 512, 412
810, 710, 610, 510, 410
VUE Apartments:
201, 207, 208, 209, 210, 211, 212, 213, 215, 217,
301, 303, 305, 307, 309, 311
401, 403, 405, 407, 409, 411
501, 503, 505, 507, 509, 511
601, 603, 605, 607, 609, 611
