SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Dec. 14, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A Tuesday night fire that displaced homeowners erupted again Wednesday more than 20 hours later thanks to a lurking, smoldering spark.
The fire at 1074 N. American Beauty Drive flared up again just before 8 p.m. Wednesday.
The cause was a smoldering attic ember left over from Tuesday night’s original fire that finally found enough oxygen to reignite, Salt Lake City fire officials said.
“It actually traveled,” Division Chief Dan Walker of the SLC Fire Department told Gephardt Daily, explaining the mystical surviving ember he called a spark that landed in attic insulation Tuesday night.
The smoldering troublemaker spread through the insulation, lacking oxygen to fully ignite, he said.
“It got to a spot where it popped up and got some oxygen and lit up,” Walker said.
The reignited fire was quickly controlled and confined to the attic, he said.
Tuesday’s initial fire was reported at 10:42 p.m. and caused significant damage to the home, displacing the family of three who received assistance from the American Red Cross with new lodgings.
No injuries resulted in either blaze, but a family dog was still unaccounted for Wednesday night, Walker said. The investigation is ongoing, with the initial cause still to be determined.
