Downtown Salt Lake City fire damages five businesses; city estimates about $5 million in losses

Salt Lake City officials on Tuesday described a large downtown blaze that began in a restaurant kitchen and spread through ceiling voids, damaging five neighboring businesses and causing what the city estimates will be approximately $5 million in losses.

"I'm Carl Leeb, Salt Lake City fire chief," Leeb said as he opened the briefing and described the response to a cooking fire at the London Bell that was dispatched at about 8:40 p.m. He said it was a "first alarm commercial assignment, which requires, 4 engines and 2 fire trucks," and that the response escalated to a second alarm at 9:21 p.m. and a third alarm at 9:42 p.m. in the evening.

Chief Leeb said crews ensured patrons were evacuated on arrival and that "we had 3 minor firefighter injuries. No injuries to civilians." He said roughly 78 firefighters and about 20 pieces of apparatus responded, and crews remained on scene until about 7:30 a.m. when a loss stop was called.…