MAGNA, Utah — A family in Magna is trying to figure out what’s next after they were displaced from their home over the weekend.
According to Unified Fire Authority, crews responded to a fire within the Sunset Vista Trailer park on Friday night. They encountered the rear of a mobile home on fire and were able to knock down the flames before the fire spread to the entire trailer. Fire investigators confirmed the fire was caused by a firework.
“If you want to do the big fireworks, fine — but just do it in an area where you’re going to be OK doing it,” said Luewanda Martinez, who lives in the home. “I don’t want [fireworks] to be sold anymore. Like, I want the professionals to do it.”
READ: Two families lose homes, pets after separate fires in Price trailer park
Martinez and her husband were watching television in their living room on Friday night when she looked out the window after seeing a flash.
“It started like right there on a pile by the window by the trailer, and then it just ignited up into the trailer,” Martinez said.
Inside the trailer were her cousin and her cousin’s daughter, along with their kitten. Martinez and her husband tried to put out the flames, but it was too late.
“Just how big it just got, and yeah — that’s when I knew it was really, really bad,” she said.
Fireworks 🎆 are legally sold in Utah and can be discharged in specific places at specific times.
— 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐞𝐞 (@brian_schnee) July 26, 2022
Here's what a firework did to a Magna mobile home a few days ago. 👇 pic.twitter.com/uuWBvbHwMj
The family is now living out of a motel. One bedroom and one bathroom in their home received serious damage, along with items in their hallway. The mobile home also sustained significant smoke damage. Martinez also says their food is now spoiled.
“We can’t even stay there, we can’t even live there now,” said Martinez.
She created a GoFundMe account to help with expenses, which include clothing, food, a place for her family to stay, and an even longer commute to work each day.
No citations were issued in connection with the fire. Fire investigators are still looking into where the firework was discharged from.
According to Unified Fire Authority’s fireworks map, the area where the fire took place is in an unrestricted fireworks zone that borders the restriction boundary. However, according to Martinez, the trailer park asked residents not to discharge fireworks within the park.
