SALT LAKE CITY — FOX 13 News put in a request in February to the Salt Lake City Fire Department for the final report and all the files from the fire at a Sugar House apartment building that happened on Oct. 26 of last year.
On Monday, we obtained records, including dozens of interviews conducted by the fire department, surveillance video, statements from firefighters, and photos from inside the building after the fire.
In February, the fire department closed the case and said the official cause was undetermined. They had several areas of interest in their report, one of them being space heaters on the construction site starting the blaze.
“It seems highly suspect to me that it would just randomly do that," said Courtney Love, the superintendent of the property. "And these are the same heaters we used last year.”
They looked into arson too. Love said he thought maybe someone experiencing homelessness started it.
“I definitely think it was somebody in the building... whether they were trying to heat a unit to try to get warm for the night or if it was just malicious," said Love.
Fire officials even interviewed an unsheltered man named Aaron Walkins who was near the building when it was up in flames.
“Of course I didn’t start a fire," he said during the interview. "Why would you think that I started a fire? Don't blame me.”
Eddie Brustos, the security manager of the property, assured officials there is no chance someone could’ve gotten inside the building to start a fire after all the crews went home for the evening.
“I go lock all the doors," said Brustos. "I'm walking all the way around and I don't see nobody, and I'll find somebody if I see him. You know what I mean? I probably go in every room and check the windows.”
Investigators estimate the fire caused around $59 million in damage, which was just to the apartment building itself, according to the report.
At a Sugarhouse Community Council meeting last month, Lowe Property Group said they do plan to rebuild the building, which was going to be called "The Residences at Sugar Alley."
