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Show 6 "I DIDN'T MEAN TO KILL NO ONE" Reflections on the tragic fire at The Boulders in Provo BY JOHN-ROSS BOYCE MUG SHOT COURTESY OF UTAH COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE CORRECTIONS BUREAU OPPOSITE PHOTO BY GILBERT CISNEROS lAt hen Boulders resident Brianne Thomas first saw the smoke, she joked to roommate Patric Bates that he must have left the stove on. As they pulled into the parking lot in front of their unit, however, Thomas and Bates saw that the situation was no laughing matter at all. "We had no idea," Bates said. "When we pulled in, shortly after nine, there were flames licking the side of the building." The Boulders apartment complex in southwest Provo saw its second fatal fire in less than three years on Monday, March 14. 45-year old Yvette Kimber, who initiated the blaze, had fought with her boyfriend and was attempting to commit suicide. She first ingested a combination of prescription medication, marijuana and alcohol. Kimber then lit a cigarette as she passed out, hoping that it would ignite a fire and kill her while she was unconscious. When that method proved ineffective, Kimber lit a fringed pillow on fire and went back to sleep; however, upon feeling the heat of the fire, Kimber woke up, became frightened and alerted authorities. Kimber made no attempt to quell the fire herself. "You can still see the fire extinguishers in their mounts," Bates said. FIRST RESPONSE Upon seeing the fire, Bates and Thomas, who live across from the buildings that were on fire, jumped from their car and ran over to the scene. "We heard people screaming that there were disabled people on the second floor," Bates said. Bates, an eight-year Army veteran, began trying to get able-bodied bystanders to assist him in removing the two residents from the danger. "We helped the first lady get down. She just kind of fell," he said. The second resident, however, is physically disabled and was reluctant to jump from her window, despite Bates and Thomas' coaxing. "She just kept screaming 'I want to get my cats out'," Thomas said. "The flames were moving so fast. I was arguing with her to the point of practically screaming obscenities" "You could see the flames engulfing the back of her apartment. We both thought she was going to die," Bates said. "She would not jump" Bates continued seeking assistance from the bystanders. "I was trying to get as many guys as I could to do that thing where we grab each other's wrist, to make a quad, so she could jump and we could catch her," he said. Meanwhile, Thomas says, many residents were busy taking pictures and taking video with their phones. "There was a third guy, we don't know who he was, but he was the only other one that was helping," Thomas said. "I was seriously pissed off. We needed more people to get these women out." Ten minutes had gone by and authorities had still not arrived at the scene. "I was screaming, 'Did anyone call 911 ?'," Bates said. "And everyone was just standing there with their jaws agape." He began attempting to kick out a window on the ground floor. His plan was to use the open window as a leverage point, get up to the second story and help the woman down. Meanwhile, Thomas was on the phone, trying to alert authorities. "I don't remember what Patric was doing, but I was on the phone. I had my back turned to the apartments and as soon as I turned around, I saw her go head first out the window," Thomas said. "I about lost it" The woman, identified by neighbors as "Janette," landed on her back and sustained a fractured pelvis and inhalation burns. At that point, firefighters arrived on the scene and ordered Bates and Thomas to the other side of the parking lot. Unbeknownst to Bates and Thomas, two other women — Karen Murray and Catherine Crane, were also trapped in their apartments. Unfortunately, they did not make it out alive. WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE? "On the one hand, we knew we did everything that we could," said Bates. "But you go over questions |