WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, Feb. 28, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — Crews battled a residential fire in West Valley City that caused $75,000 in damages Thursday morning.
Jed Peters, Battalion Chief for West Valley City Fire Department, told Gephardt Daily crews were called to a house on fire in the area of 3440 S. Greenmont Circle (4775 West) just after 7:45 a.m. Several neighbors, and also people driving by, reported the fire, and Peters said crews arrived around 10 minutes from when the 911 calls were placed to dispatch.
“When we arrived it looked like the chimney was on fire from the outside and extended up into the attic,” Peters said. “We got a pretty quick knockdown on it in about ten minutes and the house was not occupied at the time when we arrived. Most of the roof on the backside of the house was burned away and throughout the attic is burned up.”
Water being trained on the fire in the attic also caused the sheet rock ceilings to fall, causing further damage.
It appears the fire originated in the chimney, Peters said.
He said the owners of the house have not yet been located. He said it’s not clear if anyone was living there, but some neighbors told crews they believe people are either in the process of moving in or moving out, and they’re not sure if anyone is living there.
“It does appear someone has been there recently,” Peters said. “There was a fire in the fireplace inside the home.”
He said there is a possibility there may have been squatters in the house but that has not been verified. There were no injuries to either civilians or firefighters, he added.
Peters added that the challenge of fighting the fire was greater because the home is in a cul-de-sac, making access more difficult.
