U. of U. lab fire quickly doused by Salt Lake City crews

An oven apparently left on overnight in a University of Utah biology lab has been blamed for an early Wednesday fire.

Salt Lake City Fire Department spokesman Jasen Asay said firefighters rushed to the 257 S. 1400 East location when smoke triggered an alarm at 1:20 a.m. Crews located the fire in the oven and quickly doused it.

"One major concern was that we did not know what was in the oven, and if it was harmful to our firefighters," Asay said. "After contacting staff who worked in the building, we learned that whatever was in the oven was not harmful."

Asay said the incident was under investigation by the University of Utah Fire Marshal' Office.

No injuries were reported. A damage estimate was not immediately available.

A sprinkler system in the lab was triggered by the smoke detection alarm system, likely retarding potential growth of the fire.

remims@sltrib.com

Twitter: @remims