- ATF experts are aiding Ogden in the probe of a blaze that destroyed an apartment building that was under construction.
- The weekend fire, which caused an estimated $3 million in damages, is the third major blaze in Ogden since Aug. 3.
- Lotus Company, which was building the structure, lost another apartment building it was developing in Ogden last January.
OGDEN — Ogden fire officials, aided by federal experts, are sorting through the charred remains of an apartment building taking shape along the Ogden River that was destroyed in a weekend blaze.
The blaze, called in shortly before midnight Friday, is the third major fire in the city since Aug. 3, all of them still under investigation.
"There's no cause or origination yet on that fire," Ogden Fire Chief Mike Slater said, referencing the most recent fire in the 100 block of 18th Street, which caused an estimated $3 million in damage. "We're still fresh, so we're still working through that."
Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were digging through the 18th Street site as of Monday morning, called in by Ogden officials to assist. City fire officials are simultaneously investigating an Aug. 3 blaze that destroyed a townhome under construction in a sprawling development site in the 400 block of West 12th Street and an Aug. 4 fire in a multi-unit structure in the 300 block of 32nd Street that rendered the building uninhabitable and displaced the 13 people living there.
As with the 18th Street fire — which gutted an apartment building being developed by Lotus Co. that was to have housed 48 units — the Aug. 3 and 4 fires are also still the focus of continuing investigations with no new public information. "We've got so many fires that we're trying to prioritize the investigation," Slater said.
He said investigators are particularly focused on determining whether there are any links between the Aug. 3 townhome fire and the 18th Street blaze, both involving structures that were in the construction phase. The Aug. 3 fire, which heavily damaged one unit and resulted in water and smoke damage to townhomes on either side of it, caused an estimated $1.6 million in damage. "It might just be a coincidence, but we don't know. We're digging into the investigation to see if there's anything that relates those two buildings or any similarities into what happened to them," Slater said.
Lotus — which lost another apartment building that was under construction in Ogden in a Jan. 25 blaze — had fencing around its 18th Street construction site and also had a security camera in operation, Slater said. Wood siding had been placed on the wood framing of the structure, which was to have been geared to lower-income tenants, but it still lacked exterior coating. It was to have been four stories tall, though it had only reached three stories as of the weekend fire.
Lotus offered thanks to the Ogden Fire Department and the many other fire departments that assisted in extinguishing the 18th Street fire, but didn't say much more since the probe continues. The Salt Lake City-based developer is also building two other apartment buildings near the fire site on the south side of the Ogden River and has many other development projects around the city. "We are deeply saddened by the delay this incident will cause in delivering much-needed affordable housing to the community," reads the statement.
The Jan. 25 fire quickly devoured the Lotus building, located at 2186 Lincoln Avenue. A 16-year-old Roy boy was arrested in connection with the fire, authorities announced Jan. 28, while reconstruction at the site has since commenced.
In light of the recent fires, Slater said the fire department will be advising builders in Ogden to have "heightened caution" on their projects. City officials will also focus on making sure fencing is in place and other required precautionary measures are being taken at building sites.
