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2nd small fire at Capitol

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A small fire at the state Capitol caused about $3,000 damage Thursday morning.

It was the second small fire within the past three months at the building, which is undergoing a $200 million renovation project to make it earthquake safe.

Light smoke could be seen inside the Capitol about 9:20 a.m. Responding fire crews immediately called for a second alarm simply as a precaution, said Salt Lake City Fire administrative assistant Dennis McKone.

A construction worker's torch accidentally started a fire in a storage room on the second floor in the southwest portion of the building, he said. Some shelving and other items were destroyed.

Construction workers were able to extinguish most of the blaze before firefighters arrived. Most of the damage was contained to the storage room.

McKone said some plywood being used to protect the Capitol's marble also caught fire. A crew was determining Thursday whether any of the marble was damaged. Another small fire burned a large curtain and part of the floor inside one of the Capitol's rooms on Nov. 15.


E-mail: preavy@desnews.com