Fire erupts at Tooele apartment building

More than a dozen people are displaced after an apartment complex fire in Tooele.

Tooele firefighters responded at about 12:45 p.m. Wednesday to the fire near 50 W. 600 North, said Tooele Assistant Fire Chief Bucky Whitehouse. By the time crews extinguished the flames, the blaze had destroyed one apartment and partially destroyed another, Whitehouse said.

Everyone evacuated safely — though a cat was missing, residents said. Because utilities have been shut off until repairs are finished, everyone also has to find somewhere else to stay. Whitehouse said the Red Cross assisted about 14 people, though he did not know Wednesday evening where they all ended up going.

Whitehouse also did not know when the utilities would be turned back on.

Investigators have not yet determined what sparked the fire, though residents believed the blaze started because of electrical problems.

Keith Taylor, who said his brother-in-law lived in the destroyed unit, said he would not be surprised if the problem might have been electrical. Taylor said he used to live in the apartment as well and noticed that it shared a circuit breaker with the apartment next door.

The Salt Lake Tribune will update this story as more information is available.

all.justice@sltrib.com