Fire damages multiple units at Washington City storage facility

ST. GEORGE — Multiple units at a storage facility in Washington City were damaged Friday night after a vehicle fire inside one of the units began to spread.

Firefighters respond to a fire at a storage facility in Washington City, Utah, Jan. 1, 2021 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

The Washington City Fire Department responded to what was reported as an explosion at Affordable Safe Storage, 1835 E. Telegraph Street, around 6:50 p.m. When firefighters arrived at the scene, they found that multiple storage units were involved in the resulting fire, Washington City Fire Capt. Julio Reyes said in a text to St. George News.

Smoke from the fire could be seen from Interstate 15 as firefighters began to knock down the fire. While doing so, a bystander at the scene said the fire had begun in a unit housing a vehicle. He said the vehicle’s owner had attempted to start the engine and it backfired, which may have sparked the blaze that spread from one unit to another.

Reyes confirmed the fire started in the engine compartment while a man was working on the vehicle, though added firefighters do not know for certain what caused the fire.

In addition to the vehicle, Reyes said multiple propane tanks were also kept in the storage unit.

During the incident, firefighters had to cut through the roll-up doors of multiple units to be able to knock down the fire.

Once the majority of the blaze appeared to be out, firefighters then went into a handful of units and removed charred items from within that were still smoking and smoldering. These items were subsequently hosed down with water.

Between nine and 11 units appeared to have been directly impacted by the fire with others sustaining smoke damage.

Two Washington City Fire engines and crews responded to the fire. A St. George Fire engine was also on hand momentarily before being released from the scene.

No injuries were reported in connection with the fire, Reyes said.

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

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