Two tenants displaced after house fire in Taylorsville
Sep 2, 2024, 4:17 PM
Firefighters put out a fire that destroyed this deck and displaced two tenants. (Courtesy Unified Fire Authority)
(Courtesy Unified Fire Authority)
TAYLORSVILLE — Unified Fire Authority said two tenants are displaced after a house fire in Taylorsville.
Firefighters received a call to respond to the home near 6400 South and Coybrook Drive around 8:30 a.m. Monday. When crews arrived, they saw heavy smoke coming from behind the home.
“There was notable fire and heavy smoke on the outside of the house on the back patio area,” said Unified Fire Authority spokesperson Kelly Bird. “The fire did get up into the eaves of the home and then spread into the attic, causing some pretty significant damage throughout the entire attic space of the of the home.”
One person was inside the home when the fire began. Officials said the tenant suffered mild smoke inhalation while trying to rescue their cat. Firefighters were able to find the cat and bring it to safety.
Rusti Mohammed, who lives next door, said she woke up to the smell of something burning.
“(Our) neighbor just knocked on the door so hard. And then I realized that something (bad is) happening,” she said. “She told me our neighbor’s house (is) on fire.”
Mohammed rushed to wake her children up and get them out of the home.
“I saw the fire was on a deck and the bottom of a house was burning,” Mohammed said. She quickly hosed down her back fence and even the tree she shares with the neighbor to prevent the fire from spreading. “It was really scary.”
Firefighters were able to put the fire out in under 15 minutes.
“They had to go up and dig around into the ceiling to try and find out where all the additional fire was happening,” Bird said.
Firefighters put out the Taylorsville fire in under 15 minutes. (Courtesy Unified Fire Authority)
That quick response is something Mohammed’s husband Karzan Shareef is grateful for.
“If they (were) late, for sure, it (would) be affecting our house as well because that tree (is) between the two houses and the wind was just moving toward our house,” Shareef said.
With red flag warnings in place Monday, firefighters took extra measures to spot any embers from catching fire.
Officials said the home is not a total loss, but does have smoke and water damage. The Red Cross was called in to assist the tenants who were displaced.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
