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- Ogden Fire Chief Mike Mathieu reported no early indications of suspicious activity in the apartment construction fire.
- Wind and weather contributed to the fire's rapid spread, affecting nearby buildings like DaVinci Academy and the IRS building.
- The investigation is ongoing, with assistance from the ATF and requests for public video footage.
OGDEN — Ogden Fire Chief Mike Mathieu said flames quickly devoured an under-construction apartment building Saturday afternoon as crews from the area sought to save nearby buildings, as wind blew embers from the blaze around the area.
The same firefighters remained at the scene Sunday, hoping for a "quieter day," Mathieu said. No one has been injured, and they're "in good spirits" despite a long night in the cold weather.
At 4:39 p.m., the call came into emergency dispatch of a fire at a building under construction across the street from the public safety building at 2186 Lincoln Ave. Heavy smoke and flames were coming from the apartment building. The fire remained active late into the night.
There's "no preliminary indication whatsoever" that the fire was suspicious, Mathieu said, noting that the investigation is in its early stages.
Mathieu said the building was between three and five stories at its current stage of construction and was designed to have 97 apartment units. It had fire-resistant exterior and interior walls, but early indications show the fire started in the interior, Mathieu said.
Buildings that have just been framed are "so vulnerable" to fires, "and you add wind to it; that made it that much more difficult," he said.
The site had been secured with a 6-foot chain-link fence as required by the city's fire marshal when a building under construction reaches four stories tall to prevent "nefarious activity" from happening inside, the chief said.
Weather contributed to the rapid spread of the fire, Mathieu said. He said it quickly became clear firefighters would not be able to suppress the fire at the building under construction and sought to protect nearby buildings, which suffered "little damage." There are two schools on each side, he said, that are "very resilient to fire."
The neighboring DaVinci Academy suffered some damage; the IRS building one block to the west was damaged due to embers blown over by the wind, and there were spot fires west of Wall Street almost two blocks away.
Mathieu said there are no early indications the fire was suspicious, though the investigation is in its early stages.
The framer had shown up Saturday morning to work and left before noon, securing the building because it was too cold to continue working, the fire chief said. There was a generator on site in the center of the building, but it has been ruled out as the source of the fire as it wasn't operating at the time. The contractors said nobody was on site at the time the fire started.
Two detectives from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are on scene helping with the investigation. "Because it's so large, it's going to take some heavy equipment to be brought in tomorrow and to remove much of the debris," Mathieu said, to be able to investigate the cause.
The ATF has a national response team to deal with large fires of its kind that is also offering to help if needed. "But we're waiting to see if that's necessary," he said.
The DaVinci Academy will be closed Monday as its windows suffered some damage, and the school saw some minor roof and water damage.
Mathieu pleaded for community members were around at the time, and who may have any video that could show the initial stages of the fire, to share it with the fire department. Investigators are gathering footage from various surveillance cameras in the area, and "we need any and all others that are out there," he said.
The last fire of this kind in Ogden was 2022, Mathieu said.
