TOQUERVILLE — Hurricane and Leeds Fire departments extinguished a house fire that had spread to the home’s garage and caused a power outage late Thursday afternoon.
Around 4:15 p.m., the St. George Communications Center received a report of sparks flickering from the power lines strung to a Toquerville home, located at 1905 N. Anderson Junction Road.
“My brother Sean was here when the fire started and called it in,” resident Craig Street, 28, said. “He saw the power lines sparking.”
Around 4:15 p.m., Hurricane and Leeds Fire departments arrived on scene. The upper floor of the house was the first to catch fire. As firefighters were in the process of extinguishing the fire, smoke was seen rising from the unattached garage, Hurricane Fire Department Capt. Nick Wright said.
“There was probably a power surge,” Wright said. “There is a power line that runs from the house to the garage.”
“There are three of us and our baby who have lived here for about five months – my brother, wife and our baby,” Street said. “This house is really old, probably built in the 1930s. The people that built this house didn’t do it to code. It has been remodeled multiple times.
“This morning, we were watching TV and saw a house fire in Salt Lake City and we were talking about how awful it would be to lose everything. Then our house started on fire the same day.”
Dan Watts, of Rocky Mountain Power, arrived late to the scene after leaving the scene of another power outage in Rockville.
Regarding the power outage related to the Toquerville house fire, only the power connected to the house was affected, Watts said.
“The meter was completely disintegrated,” he said. “I don’t know when it will be back on.”
All occupants evacuated the home just before the upper floor of the house caught fire. An estimated $8,000-$10,000 of total damage was reported. The cause of the fire is still under investigation but appears to be electrical, Wright said.
This report is based on preliminary information provided by responders on scene and may not contain the full scope of findings.
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The aftermath of the house fire, Toquerville, Utah, May 22, 2014 | Photo by Aspen Stoddard, St. George News
The aftermath of the house fire, Toquerville, Utah, May 22, 2014 | Photo by Aspen Stoddard, St. George News
The aftermath of the house fire, Toquerville, Utah, May 22, 2014 | Photo by Aspen Stoddard, St. George News
The aftermath of the house fire, Toquerville, Utah, May 22, 2014 | Photo by Aspen Stoddard, St. George News
The aftermath of the house fire, Toquerville, Utah, May 22, 2014 | Photo by Aspen Stoddard, St. George News
The aftermath of the house fire, Toquerville, Utah, May 22, 2014 | Photo by Aspen Stoddard, St. George News
The aftermath of the house fire, Toquerville, Utah, May 22, 2014 | Photo by Aspen Stoddard, St. George News
The aftermath of the house fire, Toquerville, Utah, May 22, 2014 | Photo by Aspen Stoddard, St. George News
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