Extra Practice News Story 2: Fire

A fire broke yesterday in Ogden, at 2100 Washington Blvd. at around 2:00 in the afternoon. Five people were in the building when the fire spread- three in Pedro’s Restaurant in the basement, including two girls of the age of four and two, who were taken to McKay-Dee Hospital. The two who were in an apartment level upstairs escaped the fire without needing any treatment.
Deputy Fire Chief Greg Chamberlain suspected that the fire was probably started by a grease fire in the restaurant, a fact that was confirmed by restaurant owner Pedro Sanchez.
“I was cooking hamburgers… the grease came on really fast. I told Michael (Freeman, a customer inside the restaurant) to call somebody. Then dark smoke came,” said Sanchez.
While the two people in the restaurant- Sanchez and Freeman- escaped, 27-year old Miguel Sanchez, Pedro’s brother, and his two daughters Maria del Mar and Mercedes weren’t so lucky. Miguel was treated at the scene, while his daughters were taken to McKay-Dee Hospital shortly after the occurrence.
Pedro Sanchez remarked that he is a legal resident in the United States, as is his brother Miguel, who is currently waiting for a working visa so he can work in the restaurant with him. Sanchez also noted how he has enjoyed operating the restaurant in the two years that he has been in the country.
“I like my restaurant. I like being here in America. My brother came here wanting to help with his two girls. We were wanting to grow bigger with the restaurant.”
"I think I will talk with the owner of the building to see what we can do (to fix the restaurant)," Sanchez continued.
Apartment owner Rachel Calhoun had no comment on the incident.