Identities Released In Fire That Killed Woman, Granddaughter
Nov 19, 2018, 8:45 PM | Updated: Nov 20, 2018, 6:33 am
Lisa Wiley, age 53, and Cassidy Jackson, age 7, were killed in a fire at their Murray home.
MURRAY, Utah – Officials have released the names of two people killed in an early morning fire in Salt Lake County. The victims were identified as 53-year-old Lisa Wiley and her 7-year-old granddaughter, Cassidy Johnson.
Investigators were still working to determine what caused the fire. It started around 7:30 a.m. Monday near 5700 South 300 West in Murray.
Neighbors were devastated by the news.
“(Lisa) was a very devoted mother and grandmother,” said Liz Stanfield. “She absolutely adored her little grandkids.”
Stanfield knew the family well and said the whole neighborhood was grieving.
“I’m heartbroken. I think we all are,” she said. “It’s a very close knit neighborhood and everybody in the neighborhood is very heartbroken.”
Firefighters said at least four people were in the house when the fire started. One of them was Cassidy’s mother, who tried to find her in her bedroom, but she wasn’t there.
“She went to run up the stairs and the fire was too great,” said Stanfield. “That’s where Cassidy had gone was up into her grandma’s room to curl up with her.”
“That’s just a horrible situation to be in,” said Assistant Fire Chief Chad Pascua with the Murray Fire Department. “Losing two family members is tragic.”
Cassidy’s mother and uncle were able to get out of the house and were expected to be okay.
Fire crews from multiple agencies arrived on the scene quickly, but had a hard time getting inside right away because they said there were a lot of items in the house.
“They do what they can to save lives, but there’s times we have to be careful what we’re going into,” he said.
Stanfield said the home was a total loss. Everything inside was burned. She said the family could use some help.
A GoFundMe* has been set up by Globus Relief to help the family.
*KSL TV does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
