Ogden warehouse destroyed by explosion and fire

Ogden, UT (ABC 4 News) – Fire investigators are trying to figure out what sparked an intense fire at a car storage facility. The building and six cars were destroyed in the Monday afternoon fire.

Ogden Fire spokesman Deputy Chief Eric Bauman says fortunately the fire started when no one was inside the 7th and Wall Avenue building. “A worker had just gone outside when the worker heard an explosion and then turned around and saw the flames.” Bauman says when firefighters arrived the building was “fully engulfed.”

Neighbors say they heard several explosions. Michael Maestas says one of the explosions – which are being blamed on propane tanks inside the building - “shook the walls of his house.” He says the smoke and flames were “coming up like a tornado.”

16-year-old Irene Rivera says the fire was “horrible.” She says “flames were coming out of the windows and out of the top” of the building. She says she was “worried someone was inside and said a little prayer” when she first arrived at the scene of the fire.

Bauman says no one was injured in the explosion or the fire. He adds it took about 45 minutes to get the flames contained. The cause is still under investigation.