Fire destroys workshop, family business
Jan 17, 2022, 9:15 PM | Updated: Jun 8, 2022, 4:27 pm
CROYDON, Utah — A Utah family was supposed to be starting their business, but Monday, those plans went up in smoke after their workshop caught fire in Morgan County.
Firefighters say the fire was bad enough that, by the time they got there, all they could do was focus on protecting neighboring homes.
What was once a large warehouse and workshop in Croydon is now a pile of rubble.
“My husband had collected lots of equipment,” Chantelle de los Santos said.
Thousands of dollars in gear and heavy tools that de los Santos said she and her husband were using to start a well-drilling business.
“He’s devastated from all the loss,” she said. “And we’re just going to have to, I dunno, I haven’t been able to talk too much to him about it yet.”
They were trying to launch a family business in Morgan County, but now their workshop and all their equipment is gone. Firefighters say the fire had grown too large & they had to focus on protecting nearby homes. We'll hear from the family tonight on @KSL5TV at 6pm. pic.twitter.com/nUfa4fpObB
— Mike Anderson (@mikeandersonKSL) January 17, 2022
As they were getting closer to an opening date, the couple had started to look at business insurance, but de los Santos said they didn’t have any just yet.
“Everybody’s safe. The house is safe. It’s just the shop, that’s a loss, and I’m grateful for all the firefighters for all their response,” she said.
Chantelle de los Santos said she’s grateful for their next-door neighbor who spotted the flames and smoke and came knocking on the door.
“Ran in and grabbed the kids and got them and brought them over the neighbors and called 911,” she said.
Firefighters from Morgan County, as well as Mountain Green and South Weber, responded, but they say the fire was already large enough that it would have proven far too dangerous to try and go inside to put it out.
The de los Santos home and their neighbor’s home got by without any damage, but the future of their business — Freddy Drilling — is uncertain.
“My husband’s an amazing hard worker, and he’s worked really, really hard to keep our family going, and it’s going to break him,” de los Santos said.
She said her husband had put some wood blocks into his barbecue Monday morning. They suspect that caused the fire, but firefighters are still looking into it.
Anyone who would like to donate to this family can do so through their Venmo: @Chantelle-delosSantos.
