Nobody was injured but a fire at the Newhouse apartment building in downtown Price caused substantial smoke damage Thursday afternoon.
The Price City Fire Department got the call at 2:48 p.m. and was on scene within minutes.
The building was evacuated and traffic was partially interrupted at the busy intersection of Main Street and Carbon Avenue.
Fire Chief Paul Bedont said the fire started when a resident on the third floor left a pot on the stove.
He said there was a delay in reporting the fire because the resident had disabled the smoke alarm in his room. Eventually, a neighbor smelled smoke and called 911.
The resident was identified as James Lange. Sgt. Kelly Maynes of the Price Police Department said Lange was cited for possession of drug paraphernalia. He may face an additional charge of reckless endangerment for disabling the smoke alarm, Maynes said.
Chief Bedont said there was fire damage to the stove and cabinets in Lange’s room and some damage to the door as emergency responders were forced to “boot” their way in.
Bedont said the fire did not produce enough heat to activate the building’s sprinkler system, but the entire third floor and the stairwells sustained heavy smoke damage.
He said three fans were set up to clear the smoke out of the building.
After fire crews did their job, Chief Bedont talked to some of the residents about the importance of maintaining a working smoke alarm. He suggested the building managers do a visual inspection at least once a month. He also advised bringing in a restoration company to clean up the smoke damage.
The Red Cross was contacted to help those displaced by the incident.
Bedont estimated damages to range from $15,000 to $20,000.
The building is owned by the LaPorte Group, which also owns the Eastgate Apartment complex in Price and the Avalon in Helper.
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