SANDY, Utah – A man is lucky to be alive after escaping a house fire Sunday.
Battalion Chief Eric Larson of the Sandy Fire Department said the man living in the house woke up to the sound of fire crackling at around 3 a.m..
When he realized the front door was blocked with flames, he jumped through a bedroom window to safety. Crews arrived to find the house engulfed.
Chelsi Jenkins lives in the house next door.
“All of the sudden there was a knock on my door and it was a police officer and he said the house next door is on fire and he asked us to evacuate,” Jenkins said.
When she looked outside, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
“I was like is this for real? Am I dreaming? What’s going on,” Jenkins said when describing how she woke up to the news. “There was a lot of smoke coming from the house. I could see some flames on the other side.”
Crews contained the fire before her family had the chance to evacuate.
The man inside the house escaped without suffering any injuries. Fire officials say the house did not have any working smoke detectors.
“Extremely lucky to be able to make it out of this fire,” Battalion Chief Larson said. “Particularly without getting the early notification of the smoke detector -- smoke detectors are super valuable and save lives every day.”
The damage is estimated at more than $200,000. Battalion Chief Larson believes the house will be demolished.
