Tanning bed fire destroys Hurricane fitness center, damages 2 other businesses

Written by Ric Wayman
April 17, 2015

HURRICANE — A late night fire on State Street in Hurricane Thursday destroyed a fitness center and severely damaged two other businesses.

Emergency responders at Anytime Fitness when it caught fire, Hurricane, Utah, April 17, 2015 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News
Emergency responders at Anytime Fitness when it caught fire, Hurricane, Utah, April 17, 2015 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News

The fire at 390 S. State St. was reported at 9:48 p.m., Hurricane Fire Chief Tom Kuhlmann said. It started in a tanning bed at Anytime Fitness.

The tanning bed was occupied at the time by Dustin Snow of Hurricane.

“It just made a popping noise and then the smoke came out over it,” Snow said. “I just tried to get out of there, got dressed and ran out the door. The whole room was filled with smoke.”

Units from Hurricane Valley Fire Department, Colorado City Fire Department and Washington City Fire Department with a total of 32 firefighters responded.

One firefighter was injured when a ceiling collapsed. Kuhlmann said the firefighter was treated at the scene.

The roof was opened by firefighters to ventilate the interior, and flames were visible for a brief time until a ladder truck knocked it down with water. The wind was initially blowing so hard that the spray from the water on the ladder truck could be felt across the street.

“We had a nice facility,” Anytime Fitness owner Roger Adams of Hurricane said. “I think I’m in shock. I’m just like sick to my stomach.”

One of Adams’ employees was teaching a class and tried to put the fire out, he said.

Bystanders watch as three businesses are destroyed by a fire, Hurricane, Utah, April 17, 2015 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News
Bystanders watch as three businesses are destroyed by a fire, Hurricane, Utah, April 17, 2015 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News

“… She almost had the fire out with a fire extinguisher, but it went up again. So it was something with the wiring.”

Also affected were Kokopelli Deli and HurriTan, both in the same building.

The owner of Kokopelli Deli, Kellie Clark of Hurricane, was watching from the sidewalk. Clark said she had no idea what damage was done to her place.

“They were attacking it from the roof,” Clark said, “so we have no idea.”

Kuhlmann did not elaborate on the damage to the building or businesses, saying only that investigators would be determining the final cause and damage estimate.

“We have so many great members here,” Adams said of Anytime Fitness, “it’s hard for me to, like, piece together what I’m going to do to get these people back.”

This report is based on preliminary information provided by emergency responders and people on scene and may not contain the full scope of findings.

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery. 

Related posts

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews | @NewsWayman

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2015, all rights reserved.

 

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

"I wrote my first word when I was very young. I enjoyed this so much I decided to write many more words." A native of Pacific Palisades, Calif., Ric was bitten by the news bug as a staff writer and associate editor of the Palisades High School Tideline. After school he entered the media as a radio personality, both playing music and reporting news. Ric moved to St. George in the 1980s and was the morning personality on all three major AM stations in town. An avid amateur radio operator, Ric is looking for a good band to play in, as he plays keyboards, bass and guitar. Ric, who currently is working on developing a lifestyle that doesn't require his presence, lives in the center of St. George with his partner Terri, two snoring dogs and too many neurotic cats.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @STGnews

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

4 Comments

  • sagemoon April 17, 2015 at 1:21 pm

    Scary!

  • Free Parking April 17, 2015 at 4:31 pm

    Praise the lard and pass the bacon another house of evilness and anti Mormonism has perished in the flames of religious righteousness. LM…
    Ed. ellipsis.

  • Tm2282 April 17, 2015 at 9:22 pm

    Wow free parking that made alot if sense! About as much sense as eating at Baristas!

    • Free Parking April 18, 2015 at 8:32 pm

      Yeah and it still makes more sense than you do…. That didn’t take much to get you all bent out of shape did it.? LOL

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.