Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
MARRIOTT-SLATERVILLE, Weber County — A train almost prevented firefighters from reaching a quick-moving storage unit fire Monday morning.
Weber Fire District deputy chief David Reed told KSL that crews were dispatched to a structure fire at Ogden Self Storage near 1500 S. 1200 West at 9:22 a.m. Currently, there are only two roads that access businesses in that area: 12th Street and 17th Street.
"Sometimes the train is so long that it blocks both entrances, and then this whole area in here, it gets blocked off from emergency vehicle access," Reed said.
Reed said the fire district's units beat a train passing through the area Monday morning by just minutes. He hates to think of what might have happened had the call for help come any later and their first units had been delayed by the train.
"The whole thing could have gone," he said. "Worst case scenario somebody gets hurt."
With the help of nearby fire agencies, the Weber Fire District firefighters held the fire to five storage units. However, all five were destroyed. Reed said about 20 other units received smoke and water damage.
Reed said the fire probably caused at least $80,000 to $100,000 in damage.
Investigators believed the fire was an accident. They said a man was using a propane heater to warm the unit as he moved his personal belongings out, and it caught a nearby combustible item on fire.
"He was away long enough that it got going bad enough that it just took off," Reed said. "When he realized it, he made every effort he could to get it out. He burned his hands trying to stop it."
Reed said the man appeared to have suffered minor burns and declined transportation to the hospital. A Riverdale firefighter was also injured on the scene when he slipped on the ice and injured his knee. Reed said he was transported to the hospital for evaluation.
"We hope he's doing OK," he said.
Reed said this fire could have been so much worse had they been blocked by the train. He said he is working with the nearby Ogden train yard on keeping the train cars from blocking access to this area, but he said more needs to be done to address this issue.
"It's controlled in Omaha, Nebraska, and I'm not sure if they understand the same concern that the people locally here do," he said.
