Willard family questions recall of fire engine after loss of home
Mar 15, 2018, 8:34 PM | Updated: 9:21 pm
WILLARD – Jessi Leavell awoke early on the morning of May 15, 2017, to discover their front porch was on fire.
“We woke up at 2 a.m. when our glass doors exploded,” Leavell explained. “I was in so much shock. I thought I was dreaming.”
Jessi Leavell explains her concerns over why a Brigham City fire engine was called off the night her home caught fire.
As she grabbed her children and took them outside, her husband was trying to put out the fire with a garden hose. Leavell said she had a better view of the damage from the front of the home.
“Those flames were big,” she said. “There was no way one little garden hose was going to put those out.”
Luckily, she says volunteer firefighters from Willard city arrived soon after, and before long, it appeared the fire was out.
“The fire department had already gone in, and removed all of the animals, and personal possessions,” Leavell recalled. “I remember at one point, they brought out my TV.”
It’s what happened next, however, that Leavell says has been difficult to figure out. According to Box Elder County dispatch records she obtained, a fire engine from neighboring agency, Brigham City was enroute to the scene when it was called off at around 2:21 a.m. According to dispatch recordings, they were told another truck was instead coming from Corrine, which was paged around 2:13 a.m.
Moments after the Brigham City fire engine was sent away, another fire erupted from the Leavell home, this time from the attic.
The Leavell garage, engulfed in flames.
“It exploded, flames shooting out of every window,” Leavell said.
Leavell questions whether the Brigham City truck could have better aided Willard firefighters, instead of having to wait for another truck from Corrine. According to dispatch recordings, the Brigham City fire crew were just pulling up as they were called off, and offered to help anyway.
“I know you cancelled, but they were just around the corner,” a man can be heard saying over the radio. “We just kind of came down. Do you need anything from us?” They were still sent away, according to dispatch records. The Leavell home was a complete loss.
“What’s the goal of a first responder? Aren’t they supposed to protect us and help us?” Leavell said. “I don’t feel that’s what happened.”
Months later, the Leavell home is rebuilt. They started moving back in on February 14. The family says they still do not have answers as to why an outside neighboring agency was sent away, in exchange for a truck farther away.
“I went through two traumatic experiences that day,” Leavell said. “The first that I lost all of my belongings. The second is that I lost faith in the system.”
Box Elder County Fire Marshal Corey Barton said over the phone that he would not answer questions without an attorney present. He did however state that Brigham City was called off enroute, and that the tinder truck from Corrine was already on it’s way during a moment when the fire appeared to be out.
While homeowners’ insurance covered the cost to rebuild their home, Leavell says they still lost possessions that cannot be replaced, and points out that her sons are in therapy.
The Leavell Home, rebuilt after the May 15th fire. The Leavell’s moved back in on February 14th.
“There’s still damage that will never be undone,” she said. “When my kids see smoke; any kind of smoke, anywhere, they have this great big anxiety attack.”
Leavell says she has tried to file a lawsuit with Box Elder County, but has so far been unable to because of Utah’s Governmental Immunity Act, which states that a governmental entity cannot be sued over an employee’s job performance.
