1980 — Dec 18, Fire kills refugee family, Avalon Apartment Bldg., Salt Lake City, Utah– 12

–12  AP. “Building where 12 died denied license.” Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, WA. Dec 18.

–12  Coyne, Collette M.  “Firefronts,” Firehouse, Feb 1981, p. 12.

–12  NFPA. The U.S. Fire Problem. Home Fires with Ten or more Fatalities (1980-2007) 2008

–12  Reznikoff. Specifications for Commercial Interiors. 1989,  p. 26.

–12  UPI. “Family of Recently Arrived…Refugees…” Cumberland Evening Times. 12-19-1980.

–12  UPI. “Wait for reunion ends in a tragedy.” Sandusky Register, OH, 12-21-1980, p. A-8.

 

Narrative Information

 

Coyne: “Salt Lake City, Utah, December 18—Twelve persons, including eight children,[1] were killed when a fire struck the Avalon apartments here early Thursday afternoon. Fifty-five firefighters responded to the five-alarm blaze which was contained in one hour. According to SLCFD Inspector Gary McIff, the fire originated in a second-floor apartment and quickly spread up the building’s open stairwell, trapping its victims in their third floor apartment. Egress from that apartment may have been blocked by six separate locks found on the door.” (Coyne, Collette M.  “Firefronts,” Firehouse, Feb 1981, p. 12.)

 

Newspapers

 

Dec 18: “Salt Lake City (AP) — A century-old apartment building where 12 members of a Vietnamese family met their deaths in a roaring fire was being remodeled to meet the requirements of a stringent new fire code, the building managers say. The charred remains were found ‘stacked up on each other’ in the family’s kitchen after firefighters extinguished a four-alarm blaze that swept through the top two floors of the three-story Avalon Apartments on Thursday….The apartment they were found in was rented to Hon Van Huynh, his wife and three children, according to Christine Jones, wife of the Avalon’s assistant manager. One day before the fire, Hon’s brother and six children arrived from Hong Kong and were staying until another apartment became vacant….

 

The cause of the fire was not determined immediately, but it apparently began in a second-story apartment directly below the one where the victims were found….The building’s operating license had been denied two weeks ago because it was one of 57 that did not meet the new city fire code scheduled to take effect Jan. 1…The new code calls for smoke detectors in rooms or corridors, solid-core fire doors, containment of stairwells and restructuring of fire escapes.” (AP. “Building where 12 died denied license.” Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, WA. 12-18-1980, p. 17.)

 

Dec 19: “Salt Lake City (UPI) — The owners of an apartment building where 12 members of a Vietnamese refugee family — including nine children — died in a roaring blaze were warned just two weeks ago that the building failed to meet a new city fire code, the fire chief says. Several of the victims had arrived in Utah from a refugee camp in Thailand less than 24 hours before…. An exit was available in the kitchen, but they chose not to use it. ‘It looks like they just got scared and all huddled together in there.’[2]

 

“One member of the refugee family escaped the flames by leaping three floors to the ground. Dong Thei broke a leg and sustained other serious injuries….

 

“Five other Vietnamese families lived in the turn-of-the-century building along with several elderly couples. Many of the Vietnamese were participating in refugee programs sponsored by the Mormon Church, which helped relocate many of those left homeless by the fire….” (UPI. “Family of Recently Arrived Viet Refugees Dies in Fire.” Cumberland Evening Times, MD. 12-19-1980, p. 1.)

 

Dec 20: “Salt Lake City (AP) — Fire investigators said Friday an electrical malfunction apparently caused the apartment-house blaze that killed 12….In addition, the four adults and eight children found dead in a kitchen were trapped because an exit door was bolted and nailed shut, Fire Chief Evan Baker said at a news conference. Baker also said recently installed hallway fire doors at the Avalon Apartments apparently had been propped open, contributing to the spread of the flames through the upper two floors of the three-story building. ‘It was a very bad trap,’ Baker said….” (AP. “Wiring malfunction blamed in fatal Salt Lake City fire.” Gazette Telegraph, Colorado Springs, CO. 12-20-1980, p. 2A.)

 

Dec 21: “Salt Lake City (UPI) — Be Thi Nguyen waited two years to be rejoined with her sister, who fled Vietnam with her husband and children to a refugee camp in Thailand….All of the new arrivals to the United States — Mrs. Nguyen, her husband and three children — died Thursday in Salt Lake City’s deadliest blaze….Fire officials said an exit door from the kitchen had been bolted, locked and nailed shut by the family after a burglary. Even if they could have wrenched the door open as flames tore through their four-room apartment, they would have encountered another locked door blocking access to the hallway…” (UPI. “Wait for reunion ends in a tragedy.” Sandusky Register, OH, 12-21-1980, p. A-8.)

 

Dec 22: “Salt Lake City (UPI) {by e. O’Neil Robinson}….Fire Chief Evan Baker said Friday that…The Vietnamese may have sealed the door themselves in response to a series of thefts…

 

“The apartment owner had been warned two weeks ago that the structure would not be relicensed after Jan. 1 because it does not meet city fire safety codes. City Fire Marshal Eldon Marshall said in a news conference Friday that fire code violations at the Avalon Apartments had ‘continuously been a problem through many years.’ City officials said the building did not meet 1974 fire codes, and was not going to be re-licensed for occupancy next year. Marshall said at least fifty other buildings in the city are in similar violation of fire safety codes. He occupants of those buildings have not been told that they are living in unsafe housing, Marshall said, and city officials at all levels refused to disclose a list of the substandard apartments.

 

“Baker said Thursday’s fatal fire erupted about 2 p.m. in a second floor apartment below the rooms where the Vietnamese died. The blaze started near a bedroom closet, climbing air shafts and plumbing runs, engulfing the upper floor in seconds. He said one of the Vietnamese fled through a front window. But flames cut the victims off from the front of the apartment, forcing them into the kitchen where they struggled with the bolted door. He said that even if the victims had broken through, they still would have faced another door secured with a hasp and padlock….” (UPI. “Only Escape Route in Fire that Killed 12 was Bolted.” Courier-Express, DuBois, PA, 12-22-1980, p. 15.)

 

Sources

 

Associated Press. “Building where 12 died denied license.” Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, WA. 12-18-1980, p. 17. Accessed 5-26-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/walla-walla-union-bulletin-dec-18-1980-p-49/?tag

 

Associated Press, Salt Lake City. “Wiring malfunction blamed in fatal Salt Lake City fire.” Gazette Telegraph, Colorado Springs, CO. 12-20-1980, p. 2A. Accessed 5-26-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/colorado-springs-gazette-telegraph-dec-20-1980-p-2/?tag

 

Coyne, Collette M.  “Firefronts,” Firehouse, Feb 1981, pp. 12-13.

 

National Fire Protection Association. The U.S. Fire Problem. “Home Fires with Ten or More Fatalities (1980-2007).” Quincy, MA:  NFPA, April 2008 update. Accessed at:  http://www.nfpa.org:80/itemDetail.asp?categoryID=953&itemID=30981&URL=Research%20&%20Reports/Fire%20statistics/The%20U.S.%20fire%20problem

 

Reznikoff, S. C. Specifications for Commercial Interiors. Watson-Guptill, 1989, 319. Partially digitized by Google. Accessed at:  http://books.google.com/books?id=hvyQyfKo0CoC

 

United Press International, Salt Lake City. “Family of Recently Arrived Viet Refugees Dies in Fire.” Cumberland Evening Times, MD. 12-19-1980, p. 1. Accessed 5-26-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/cumberland-evening-times-dec-19-1980-p-1/?tag

 

United Press International, Salt Lake City (E. O’Neil Robinson). “Only Escape Route in Fire that Killed 12 was Bolted.” Courier-Express, DuBois, PA, 12-22-1980, p. 15. Accessed 5-26-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/dubois-courier-express-dec-22-1980-p-15/?tag

 

United Press International, Salt Lake City. “Wait for reunion ends in a tragedy.” Sandusky Register, OH, 12-21-1980, p. A-8. Accessed 5-26-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/sandusky-sunday-register-dec-21-1980-p-8/?tag

 

 

 

 

 

[1] According to  Dec 19 UPI report nine of the fatalities were children.

[2] Cites Fire Marshal Eldon Marshall. However, the next day the Fire Chief said the exit was bolted and nailed shut.