SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah, Jan. 20, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A South Salt Lake family was forced to flee their home early Sunday morning after fire spread to the residence from a nearby garage.
The fire, at 656 E. 3065 South, was first reported at 2:43 a.m. When firefighters arrived flames were leaping 25 to 30 feet in the air.
South Salt Lake Fire Department Battalion Chief Shane Conrad told Gephardt Daily that not only were the home and garage ablaze, a gas meter was also engulfed in flames, creating additional cause for concern.
“We were able to get it out pretty quick — obviously with the gas meter still involved — we didn’t secure the meter until later on, until we felt it was safe to go in.”
It took about 30 minutes before the fire was completely under control.
“We also had downed power lines in the back of the house, plus the house has solar panels on the roof. So we were dealing with a couple of obstructions,” Conrad said.
Two residents were inside the home when the fire started. They quickly evacuated, along with two of their cats, but a third apparently didn’t survive.
The house isn’t habitable right now, Conrad said.
“There’s no heat. The gas meter needs to be replaced.”
He didn’t have a dollar estimate of damage and the cause of the fire had not yet been determined.
“We’ll be on scene doing overhaul and investigation for a while,” he said.
