MIDVALE, Utah — Kaleigh McKean’s phone call to her friend came to an unexpected end Friday morning.
“The fire alarm started going off, and so I told her I'd call her back, I figured it was just a test,” she said.
However, the moment she opened her door, something didn’t feel right.
“I could smell a little bit of smoke,” she said, "I grabbed my two cats. They ran behind the couch, so I lifted my couch up and I threw it like halfway in my living room.”
With only her animals and keys in hand, Kaleigh got to her car, looked up and saw the reality she was facing: her apartment complex in Midvale up in flames.
“I was sobbing this morning because I thought this was where we were at,” she said as she pointed to the building as fire crews were working, "I thought my apartment was in flames at that point… It's scary because we have a lot of stuff in there. I mean, that's our whole life.”
Her apartment was on the bottom floor, and while she hopes to only find water damage, she’s currently unable to go back home, along with hundreds of others.
At the start of the fire, the football team was having morning practice across the street at Hillcrest High School.
“We saw a huge billowing tower of smoke, and I remember thinking this is really serious,” said football player Boston Kalt.
Head Coach Robby Kaelin knew the school was going to turn into a temporary shelter, and put a message out to the football team to see if anyone could help, what he didn’t expect was more than half the team to show up.
“It's a big thing for us, especially as we teach these young men and young women that are in our program how to become good adults and good people, and not just good on the field, but better off the field,” he said.
The boys stayed for hours on Friday.
“If we’re ever in need we can know that they can have our back because we helped them,” said player K’Von Houston, "the community is all one, we’re all together,” added fellow teammate Luke Worth.
They stayed not only to honor the Hillcrest name, but to offer people like Kaleigh some comfort during a time they need it the most.
“How quickly it escalated and got worse and worse, it’s just pretty sad to see and just sad to imagine what the families are going through,” Worth said.
“Today's their worst day. Today might be my best day. I should spread some of that joy and happiness to them,” Kalt said, "I've always heard the saying that it takes a community, and I really believe that.”
The shelter has been moved to Fort Union Middle School in Sandy, with the Red Cross assisting. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Crews will continue fighting the fire well into the night; no timeline is currently in place for when it will be under control.
