A massive fire broke out in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City Monday night, sending flames several stories high and thick, heavy smoke out into the sky, blanketing the area.
Firefighters responded to a report of a fire at 321 S. Main shortly before 8:45 p.m., according to Bob Silverthorne, a division chief for the Salt Lake City Fire Department. The fire broke out in the back of one of the businesses in a complex that he said is essentially four “piled into one.” It quickly spread to another business in the middle of the complex in a location that is close to more buildings on the block.
Within a few minutes, large flames were visible above London Belle Supper Club as dozens of onlookers watched from across the street in disbelief.
“I saw the smoke from three blocks away, so I ran over here as soon as I could,” said Rebecca Russell, an employee of a downtown business unaffected by the fire, while the fire burned. She explained she has friends who work at businesses on the block, so she ran over to make sure they were OK.
“This is absolutely crazy,” she added.
Salt Lake City police eventually closed Main Street from 300 South to 400 South as smoke from the fire began covering the street like dense fog. A section of 300 South from State Street to West Temple was also closed.
“We’ve taken a defensive posture. ... There was some structural collapse within the building, so that’s why we initially decided to pull crews off the roof, as well as the interior of the building,” Silverthorne said, while crews continued to battle the fire a half-block away. “That’s when we initially started transitioning from an offensive strategy to a defensive strategy.
About 60 to 70 firefighters from across the city remained at the scene Monday night. Firefighters set up two ladder trucks on Main Street to blast water from above, while also spraying water from hoses up toward the roof of the structure.
Employees and customers of the businesses evacuated safely. One firefighter suffered minor injuries battling the fire. That firefighter was transported to a nearby hospital for further evaluation but is expected to be OK.
County records show the complex was constructed in 1920, but its commercial sections underwent upgrades in the 1970s and 1990s. Its age added to the complexity of firefighting operations.
“There’s large diameter wood ... and there are other things that are interesting for us as we do a firefight. Like, a lot of them don’t have modern suppression systems built in unless they’ve been retrofitted to fit current code,” Silverthorne said. “Our firefighters do a really good job preplanning these buildings. ... With our preplanning, our rigs and personnel know kind of what building they’re going into, and they can adjust their strategy accordingly.”
It wasn’t immediately clear if any other buildings sustained damage, but firefighters say adjacent businesses and buildings may have suffered water or smoke damage that could impact business operations.
Utah Transit Authority halted TRAX trains in the area, setting up a bus bridge between its 600 South and City Center stations, which remained in place throughout the night.
Some road and service closures could remain in place Tuesday morning, depending on the status of firefighting operations.
The fire remains under investigation, and it could take weeks for the fire department to determine a preliminary cause.
