CEDAR HILLS, Utah - When Jared Christensen arrived at his brother-in-law's home early Friday morning it was still engulfed in flames.
"Words can’t describe: It was shock and awe, terrifying," Christensen said of the scene near 10600 Fiddlesticks in Cedar Hills.
When he realized his brother-in-law had run into the flames to save his 13-year-old son, Connor, Christensen wasn't surprised.
"Spencer is that kind of dad, he’s an amazing guy," Christensen said.
While recovering from third-degree burns at the hospital, Spencer Kelly told Christensen about the terrifying experience.
"There was smoke everywhere," he said. "He couldn’t see anything. He was crawling up the stairs. He said it was like crawling on lava."
Kelly had to feel around just to find Connor, and then drag him down the stairs to safety.
Running into a burning home is not something Lone Peak Fire Chief Joe McCrae can condone, but his crew says in this case it saved a life.
"He believes if the father had not gone in and got his son that it would’ve had a tragic result," McCrae said.
According to family friend, Todd Densley, this is not the first disaster the Kellys have experienced lately.
"Eighteen months ago they had a pretty disastrous flood in their home and had to go through a whole process of refurbishment," Densley said.
"It's almost a curse or something right," Christensen added.
Now the Kelly's will be dealing with another estimated $150,000 in damage. However, it's small change compared to a loss of life.
"It's a definite miracle," Christensen said of the rescue. "No question about it."
Supporters have created a GoFundMe page to help the family with expenses in the wake of the fire.
