A Sutherland condo building that went up in flames Friday night around 11:30 was ignited in what appeared to be a plastic container being used as a community ash tray for those who called the east side building home.
Chief Morgan Hackl says the container which is flammable itself also didn’t have sand and water that would be typically used for an ash tray.
The fire chief told reporters on Sunday that the fire alarm system wasn’t activated during the blaze and residents were outside yelling at others to exit as the fire was raging.
(Fire Chief Morgan Hackl speaks to the media Sunday afternoon)
(submitted SFD)
The suites and common areas were also not sprinklered.
A handful of vehicles nearby were also damaged as as result of the fire.
Five residents had to be rescued by SFD personnel. The first arriving crews were on scene in two and a half minutes and it took close to 80 firefighters on rotation to extinguish the blaze which took seven hours to control and another seven and a half hours before crews were able to leave the scene.
Hackl says a lot of modern-day construction sees vinyl siding along with other materials containing glue which can burn easily and that was the case with this Sutherland condo.
Twenty-three of the twenty-four suites were occupied at the time of the fire.
To Hackle’s knowledge, all residents have been rehoused with either family, friends or through services like the Salvation Army.
The fire chief adds a lot of modern-day construction sees vinyl siding along with other materials containing glue which can burn easily and that was the case with this Sutherland condo.
(A portion of the west side of the building is now rubble)
(submitted SFD)
