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SALT LAKE CITY — A large structure fire at a vacant industrial building Thursday has led to road closures and transit delays within the Ballpark and Central Ninth neighborhoods of Salt Lake City.
Firefighters responded to a commercial structure at 1030 S. 200 West, the site of the old Mrs. Fields Confections building, shortly after 10 a.m.
"Right off the bat, we had fire starting to come through the roof," said Salt Lake Fire Division Chief Bob Silverthorne. "At that point, it escalated quickly to a (multi-alarm) fire."
About 70 to 80 firefighters from 20 fire units were dispatched to battle the fire as of Thursday afternoon. Police and paramedics were also on scene, but Silverthorne said there were no injuries.
He added that crews have taken a "defensive" approach, working to make sure the fire remains in the vacant building and doesn't spread to a cleaning business next door. There have been no residential evacuations.
Firefighters are expected to remain at the scene through most of the afternoon.
We are assisting @slcfire with a building fire in the area of 1000 South and 200 West.
— Salt Lake City Police (@slcpd) December 19, 2024
200 West will be closed from 900 South to 1300 South.
Brooklyn Avenue will be closed from 300 West to 200 West.
Please avoid the area.#SLC#SaltLakeCity#SLCPDpic.twitter.com/YZ2G67a30R
Salt Lake police said 200 West is closed from 900 South to 1300 South and Brooklyn Avenue will be closed from 300 West to 200 West. At the time, there was no timetable for those roads opening.
The fire is also impacting Utah Transit Authority's TRAX service because of the building's proximity to a line that its blue, green and red lines all share. The agency set up a bus bridge from its 600 South and Central Pointe stations.
It also notified riders to expect delays of 20 to 30 minutes on all TRAX lines in both directions from 600 South to the Ballpark Station and at all points in between.
#TRAX Alert 10:22 AM: Expect a delay of 20 to 30 minutes on all TRAX Lines in both directions from 900 South Station to Ballpark Station and at all points in between due to non-mechanical issues.
— Utah Transit Authority - UTA (@RideUTA) December 19, 2024
Additionally, UTA's Jingle Train will only operate on the TRAX Blue Line between Salt Lake Central and Courthouse stations.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
