Extra Practice News Story 2: Fire

The stench of charred hamburger, burnt tortillas, and grease hung over the corner of Washington Boulevard and 21^st street in Ogden yesterday afternoon after a fire broke out in a local Mexican restaurant. According to deputy fire Chief Greg Chamberlain the fire started in the kitchen shortly before 2:00 p.m. Pedros restaurant was on the ground floor of a three story building, with two apartments above. Pedro’s’ brother and two nieces had been living in the apartment above for almost two months; they were also evacuated after the fire started. Mr. Sanchez was in the kitchen cooking some ground beef when the fire broke out, he tried to control the ever growing flames with a fire extinguisher but was unable to suppress the fire. The other occupant in the restaurant at the time of the fire, 16 year old Michael Freeman, is a regular customer Pedros called 911 after he and Pedro Sanchez ran out of the building while the fire burned out of control.

Pedro Sanchez suffered minor burns to his hands and was later released by paramedics, but the occupants of the second floor were all taken to the hospital as a precautionary measure. Miguel, Mercedes, and Maria del Mar Sanchez were all in the apartment at the time of the fire. They all suffered smoke inhalation according to the leader of the paramedic team, Captain Rick Thompson. He told news reporters that four year old Mercedes, two year old Maria del Mar, and their father Miguel were all fine but taken to the local hospital as a precaution. Miguel’s brother Pedro was worried about their conditions, especially his two nieces Mercedes and little Maria. He told us that Miguel had only been living in the apartment for five to six months after he and his two daughters had come from Mexico. Pedro Sanchez has been living in Ogden for two years; he too had also emigrated from Mexico.

The fire was eventually contained to the kitchen within ten minutes of the fire department coming on the scene. The other parts of the building suffered only smoke damage, and there is no word as of now if the building was up to local fire code requirements. The owner of the building, Rachel Calhoun, would not comment on the yesterday’s fire, or the state of the building. She was very apprehensive when I asked for her thoughts about yesterdays fire in her building, there is still no comment as today. Pedro Sanchez remarked after the fire had been put out, “This is probably a very bad thing for me.”