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An early Friday morning fire destroyed nearly two-dozen storage units bordering Murray and Millcreek.

Unified Fire Authority, Murray, South Salt Lake and Salt Lake City crews responded to the two-alarm, 12:37 a.m. blaze at a storage facility near 4000 South and Main Street. In all, about 50 firefighters battled the flames.

Fire investigators say the fire was ignited when sparks from a grinder a man was using to sharpen a lawn mower blade in one of the units ignited a nearby gasoline can. By the time firefighters arrived, flames and heavy smoke were pouring from an entire row of storage units, according to UFA spokesman Steve Ball.

It took several hours to snuff the fire, since firefighters had to attack each of the blazing units individually, cutting locks off their steel doors. "All of them were filled with combustibles," Ball said.

The man who started the fire escaped without serious injury. One firefighter suffered a strained back when he slipped and fell, but he was treated at the scene and released.

A damage estimate was not immediately available, but Ball confirmed that 22 storage units burned and all were a total loss.

What if any charges may be filed against the man blamed for the fire had not been determined Friday.