Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
TOOELE — Two dogs are recovering after a fire destroyed a garage and damaged two homes Thursday afternoon near 700 South and 330 West in Tooele.
Firefighters received the call about 3:47 p.m. and remained on scene until about 6:30 p.m.
A family says they are thankful for the man who called 911 and tried to contain the fire. Frank Linford said he saw smoke when he was driving by with his daughter.
He said he pulled over and immediately called the authorities. When he got closer, he saw a dog in the backyard, terrified.
"I got the dog safely confined and immediately started turning on sprinklers and water to create a barrier between the fire and the dog and immediately started trying to contain the fire from spreading farther back," Linford said.
Though Linford tried to fight the fire with a garden hose, he explained, "The reality is, with a garden hose, that's not really a fire that can be fought. The best thing that can be done is to contain it."
Eventually, four fire agencies responded and fought the flames for 45 minutes. Firefighters also rescued another dog trapped inside the house.
"One of the family members said, 'Nobody is home, but our dog is inside,'" Tooele Fire Chief Matt McCoy said. "Right as he was telling me that, one of our firefighters came outside with the dog at that time."
Twenty-four hours later, Linford reflected on the incident and returned to check on the family. His daughter had captured part of the event on her phone.
Linford shared a message of hope: "The world just needs to be able to step in when other people are in need and do what they can to help."
No one was injured in the fire, and firefighters managed to prevent it from spreading to neighboring houses. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
