News

Actions

House fire displaces Tooele County family

Posted at 8:21 AM, Jun 21, 2014
and last updated 2014-06-21 23:21:55-04

TOOELE COUNTY, Utah -- A Tooele County family was displaced after a fire partially destroyed their home early Saturday morning, according to fire officials.

At approximately 2 a.m., a residential fire was reported in Stansbury Park. When crews arrived on scene at 141 Country Club the front of the house and detached garage were engulfed in flames.

The father in the house told fire crews that he heard an explosion outside the front door, said Fire Chief Randy Willden with North Tooele County Fire.

“There was a loud bang or something, not sure what it was, like I said we were in bed the dogs started barking so my wife got up she come to the front room she could see some orange and white lights through the window wasn’t sure what it was,” homeowner Jim Barnes said.  “She opened the door and there was a big fire in the front door."

Firefighters said the blaze spread.

"When we arrived about 2:10, we had heavy fire between the house and garage," Willden said. "There’s a patio area, it was completely involved upon our arrival."

Willden said the man got his wife, children, grandchild and dog out of the house.

“So they actually got some smoke back there, and fortunately one of the neighbors took a piece of the fence down and were able to get them out of their own backyard,” Willden said.

There were no injuries reported. Homes on both sides of the residence were evacuated. One structure suffered some damage.

“There was some damage to the vinyl siding, and it could have quickly spread to the home, but the crews got over there and got water on that siding as quick as they could,” Willden said of their efforts to protect the other home.

According to tweets from the Utah Red Cross, the family was provided with food, clothing and shelter. The dog is staying with a neighbor.

Willden said the main floor of the home and detached garage were completely damaged by the flames. Investigators will be on scene to look into the nature of the fire.

“We lost the house, we lost the fifth wheel, we lost everything,”Barnes said.

North Tooele County Fire and Grantsville City Fire responded to scene.