City inspectors believe tenants of the Clay Apartments may have propped open fire safety doors, allowing a blaze to engulf both sides of the four-story building on Saturday.
"If that door had been maintained like it should have been, then it probably would have saved at least half of the building," said inspector Brad Chadwick. "The problem is, although we require them closed, the tenants block them open."A family of four died as fire consumed the 67-year-old structure in downtown Ogden. Fire officials believe a discarded cigarette may have started the fire, but the investigation is continuing.
The victims were Jesus Cruz Rivera, 31, Rosenda Cruz Machado, 27, and their 3-year-old daughter, Ana Gabriela Cruz, and 6-year-old son, Carlos Alfonzo Cruz. Officials said Rosenda Cruz was six months pregnant.
Self-closing doors at all exits are safety features required since 1979, when the state's building code was upgraded. It also required at least two emergency exits and walls in stairways built with materials able to withstand intense heat for about an hour.
Chadwick said such doors keep the fire contained in one part of the building when shut.
There was no fire escape, he said, but one wasn't required by law because there were exits on both sides of the building.
Wayne Glover, the city's building license and permit supervisor, said the apartments had been in compliance for about 15 years. Owner Herbert C. Dahlquist, from Provo, renovated the building in 1981 to meet the changes in the 1979 code. He died recently
It was built in 1929 and then was called the Ogden Apartments.
Glover said city officials have not fielded any formal complaints about safety issues at Clay Apartments since it was last inspected in August 1995, when Dahlquist purchased a rental license.
"From our review, Clay Apartments was compliant," Glover said.
Chadwick said that in the past 10 years, all such older structures in Ogden have been inspected to make sure they meet the code.
Fire Marshal Bob Wright said he now plans to conduct a review of older Ogden residential buildings that are two stories or more and possibly require installation of sprinkler and alarm systems if many are deemed unsafe.
Older structures are usually exempt from ordinances requiring safety systems because they were built long before the codes were implemented, Wright said.