SALT LAKE CITY — Multiple people were evacuated as crews responded to a three-alarm fire at an upscale bar and restaurant in downtown Salt Lake City on Monday night.
The blaze could be seen lighting up the downtown skies after it broke out around 8:40 p.m. at 321 S. Main Street, which is the location of the London Belle Supper Club.
“This building is essentially four buildings kind of piled into one," SLCFD Division Chief Bob Silverthorne explained. "The two center buildings are mostly what is the body of the fire."
As of late Monday night, the extent of damage to the cluster of buildings was not known as they were still in an "active firefight." Silverthorne said some adjacent buildings, even if not damaged by the fire itself, may have smoke and water damage.
Silverthorne said there was some level of structure collapse, which forced crews to take a defensive posture against the fire. That meant pulling back any interior firefighting efforts and mainly hosing it down from above.
Video below shows crews battling downtown fire:
The cause of the fire is not yet known.
Silverthorne also said the actual construction of the fire was helpful for firefighters as they battled to put out the flames.
"Some of the construction features are actually advantageous for us because they're legacy construction, so you have full dimensional lumber with these buildings, so it allows us some time to operate inside the structure," he explained.
There were 60-70 SLCFD personnel working the scene, along with others from neighboring fire departments.
The number of people who had to be evacuated during the fire was not released, but Silverthorne said they confirmed twice that nobody was left inside the buildings.
Fire officials give update on downtown fire:
The public is being asked to avoid the three-block radius of the fire. Utah Transit Authority TRAX lines that run through the area have been shut down, as have all roadways.
Salt Lake City Fire Department officials said one firefighter sustained a minor injury, but no civilians were injured.
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