Sandy man breaks into burning home to rescue neighbor


8 photos
Save Story

Show 1 more video

Leer en español

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

SANDY — A man broke into a burning home Tuesday to help his neighbor get out safely.

The fire started in a garage about 8:45 a.m. at 15 Sunwood Lane (2240 E. 10900 South) in the gated Pepperwood neighborhood. The first arriving crews found the attached garage full engulfed, said Sandy Deputy Fire Chief Derek Maxfield.

A neighbor saw the flames, broke in through the back door, got the woman inside out of bed and out of the house safely, Maxfield said.

The three-car garage and a vehicle inside were a complete loss, he said. However, crews did prevent the fire from spreading to the main houseæ

Investigators believe the fire was started by ashes and coals left in a plastic trash can inside the garage. Maxfield said the family apparently had a fire in their outdoor fireplace Monday night. The husband reportedly woke up early to practice the organ at his local LDS meetinghouse. But before he left, he cleaned the ashes out of the fireplace and put them in a trash can.

Maxfield said the incident is a good reminder to douse coals and ashes throughly with water, don't store them in a plastic container, and keep them in a trash can away from the garage or house.

Contributing: Shara Park

Photos

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Pat Reavy

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast