Residents, Dog Displaced After Fire Destroys Home
Dec 23, 2019, 6:19 AM | Updated: 1:51 pm
Three people and one dog were displaced after a fire destroyed their home Dec. 23, 2019. (Photo: Felicia Martinez)
(Photo: Felicia Martinez)
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah – Three people and one dog have been displaced after an overnight fire at a mobile home community.
The fire happened shortly after midnight Monday at the Windsor Estates in the area of 3300 West and 2800 South.
One of the residents contacted authorities after smelling smoke, fire officials said. The woman, one of three people who live at the location, was the only person home at the time. She and a dog were able to escape safely.
A West Valley family’s home goes up in flames near 3307 W Oxford Drive. A total loss and the @RedCross is assisting this morning. Details on @KSL5TV pic.twitter.com/N2GHq8LM6f
— Felicia Martinez (@FeliciaKSL) December 23, 2019
The West Valley City Fire Department Deputy Chief Chris Beichner said when crews arrived, the home was fully engulfed. Firefighters had an issue battling the blaze due to a faulty fire hydrant in front of the residence.
Crews had a difficult time getting the hydrant to open, and the water pressure was not ideal, he said.
“Sometimes in apartment complexes and trailer parks, you do get some bad hydrants,” Beichner said. “It’s supposed to be up to mobile home parks and apartment complexes to test those.”
The structure is a total loss, and the residents are getting help from the American Red Cross.
Residents in a home next door also had to evacuate, and their home sustained some damage.
“I woke up to the smell of something burning,” said 15-year-old Christian Martinez, who lives next door to the house that was destroyed. “I could see the orange flames through my window.”
Like his neighbor, who managed to escape with her dog, Martinez, his parents and his two siblings made it out OK — along with their pet dog and bird.
“Our first reaction was to get our pets and get the family out,” he said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation. The residents of the home where the fire originated said it was electrical. However, that has not been confirmed by the West Valley Fire Department.
