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Taylorsville house fire sends Christmas up in flames for two families

Posted at 9:26 PM, Dec 19, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-20 11:16:07-05

TAYLORSVILLE, Utah - “It's a couple days before Christmas, we were wrapping everything up and then it all crashes down,” said Karlie Badger of Taylorsville.

A family of five lives upstairs, and a family of four rents the downstairs. Now both are displaced after a fire broke out Monday afternoon.

“As a parent you don't want to tell your kids that their Christmas is gone,” Badger said.

Days before Christmas, Badger had to show her three young children pictures of the inside of their home.

“The kitchen was destroyed,” Badger's 5-year-old daughter said. “It was scary, it was like a really scary picture.”

It was Monday afternoon, and firefighters surrounded the house when Badger pulled into her neighborhood.

“When I first walked in I just broke down and cried. I couldn't handle what it looked like,” she said.

The home she's lived in for years is now unrecognizable

“It's black everywhere the ceilings are black walls are black the ceilings are ripped down it was just a huge shock," Badger said.

Flames and smoke damaged the first floor, and now the basement is flooded. Badger says fire investigators believe a faulty electrical outlet sparked the fire. Despite all this, the family is counting their blessings.

“We're so thankful we're all safe and that's what matters most,” Badger said.

But instead of lights sparkling outside their home, a red notice is taped on the window and inside.

“You don't want to open a Christmas present smelling smoke, so we are at a loss of what to do,” she said.

The Badger family is now staying with relatives, they assured their kids Santa knows where they are staying now. Loved ones have set up a gofundme page to help them during this difficult time:

https://www.gofundme.com/badgers-christmas