Neighbors remember man killed in Springville house fire

SPRINGVILLE, Utah — Neighbors are remembering a 79-year-old man killed in a house fire in Springville as a good guy who cared for others.

The deadly fire near 800 South and 300 East drew a response from multiple departments Friday afternoon as crews worked to get a handle on the blaze.

Police said one of the neighbors initially tried to rescue the man, but the flames were just too much.

“A neighbor from across the street saw that there was smoke and flames coming from the home,” Springville Police Chief Lance Haight said. “He was able to get the door open, but he could tell there was so much smoke and flames that he couldn’t have made entry. It would have been very dangerous to do so.”

Large response to a fire loosely in the area of 800 S 400 E in Springville. Gathering details and will have more @KSL5TV at 5p #KSLTV #Utah pic.twitter.com/43xo4idPjK

— Andrew Adams (@AndrewAdamsKSL) February 10, 2023

Haight said it was believed the man inside the house was “fairly immobile.”

“Unfortunately when (firefighters) arrived, they discovered that the resident of the home, a 79-year-old male, was deceased,” Haight said.

Police, as of late Friday, had not yet publicly identified the deceased.

Marion and Sharon Gren, who live across the street, said the man who died was a neighbor of theirs for roughly 45 years.

“I worked with him for quite a long time,” Marion said. “He was an alright guy. To start out with, quite a few years ago, he took care of his mother-in-law. He would drive quite a ways to work and back to be here every night to take care of her. He was a thoughtful guy.”

Family members who showed up to the scene asked for their privacy via police.

The cause remains under investigation, according to detectives.

Haight said preliminarily, the belief was that the fire was accidental.

Sharon said the loss was “hard” to contemplate and “very sad.”

“We don’t know how fragile we are,” Marion Gren said.