Apartment fire off Valley View Drive in St. George causes evacuation of 6 units

ST. GEORGE — Multiple fire engines and a small group of firefighters extinguished an apartment fire Friday night just off Valley View Drive that has left the occupants of at least one apartment, if not more, displaced for the night.

St. George firefighters respond to the report of a structure fire at the Summer Hill apartments off Valley View Drive, St. George, Utah, March 26, 2021 | Photo reader submitted, St. George News

Shortly after 7 p.m., the St. George Fire Department was alerted to the report of a structure fire at the Summer Hill apartments at 1279 W. 360 North, just off Valley View Drive. An upstairs apartment in a 6-unit building had caught fire and was producing flames and smoke seen by passersby.

“We had a heavy fire involved in the apartment on the upper right of the building,” St. George Fire Chief Robert Stoker said. “Crews were able to knock that down.”

The fire also extended into the neighboring upstairs apartment through the attic, as well as into the attic of another apartment on the back of the building.

Firefighters had to pull down parts of the ceiling in the apartments to make sure the fire hadn’t spread any further, Stoker said.

St. George firefighters respond to the report of a structure fire at the Summer Hill apartments off Valley View Drive, St. George, Utah, March 26, 2021 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

The fire, which was primarily located in the right upstairs apartment, was contained by 8 p.m., though firefighters were still going through the torched remnants of the apartment to make sure the fire was out.

While the occupants of all six apartments were evacuated, Stoker said at the time that he was unsure if everyone from the building would be displaced or if some would be allowed to return home later on.

“Right now we don’t know if all six units will be displaced for the evening. That’s what we’re trying to find out.” he said “We’re starting our investigation into the fire and looking into the structure itself and what damage we may have here.”

As far as he was aware, Stoker said none of the evacuated apartment residents appeared to have any injuries related to the fire.

Several St. George Police were also on hand during the fire, as was Gold Cross Ambulance.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2021, all rights reserved.

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