This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Firefighters rushed to the scene of a 2-alarm commercial area blaze in southwest Salt Lake City Monday morning.
Workers at Brenntag Pacific, 2334 W. Directors Row (1100 South), called 911 when noticing smoke at 8:12 a.m., and all 15 employees at the business had self-evacuated when crews arrived, said Salt Lake City Fire Department spokesman Jasen Asay.
The blaze was began in empty plastic drums, varying in size from 55- to 500-gallons, that were stored in an "add-on" structure attached to the main business.
Asay said the fire burned several of the drums containing residue amounts of various chemicals, and flames had begun to spread into the main building before being doused by both a sprinkler system and about 35 firefighters from both SLCFD and neighboring West Valley City.
"There was a lot of smoke, and we used electric fans to clear away as much as we can without cutting any holes in the roof," Asay said.
The cause of the fire, which took about 20 minutes to extinguish, was under investigation.
A dollar damage estimate was not immediately available.
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