Man taken to hospital after house fire in Cedar City

Written by Jeff Richards
January 3, 2022

CEDAR CITY — A man in his 80s was taken to the hospital on Monday morning after his house caught fire in a neighborhood just north of Cedar City’s Bicentennial Park.

Scene of a residential fire at 320 W. 900 North, Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 3, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Shortly after 7:40 a.m., firefighters were dispatched to a report of a structure fire at 320 W. 900 North. A total of 25 firefighters responded, including the crews assigned to four fire engines and one rescue truck, Cedar City Fire Chief Mike Phillips told Cedar City News at the scene.

Although flames weren’t visible from across the street, plumes of gray and white smoke could be seen billowing into the sky as crews entered the structure and worked to put water on the blaze. 

According to a news release issued Monday afternoon by Cedar City Police Department, officer Patrick McCoy initially attempted to enter the home but had to retreat due to the amount of smoke inside. Cedar City Fire Department personnel then deployed a fire suppression device to clear some of the smoke, after which McCoy again entered the home and was able to pull the resident partly out of the home, upon which other officers were able to assist in the extraction. 

The man who was taken to the hospital for suspected smoke inhalation was the only resident of the home, his family members said at the scene.

Scene of a residential fire at 320 W. 900 North, Cedar City, Utah, Jan. 3, 2022 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Phillips said the man was initially transported to Cedar City Hospital by ground ambulance, then was later flown to Salt Lake City via Intermountain Life Flight for further treatment. 

McCoy was reportedly treated for smoke inhalation at Cedar City Hospital, then later released, the police department’s statement said.

Phillips said the fire took a while to bring under control, due to the large volume of combustible materials inside the home. 

The scene, which was at the end of a dead-end street, was still active but winding down shortly after 10 a.m. The home sustained extensive damage to its interior, particularly on the eastern half of the structure.

Also responding to the incident were Cedar City Police Department officers and Gold Cross Ambulance personnel.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, Phillips added.

Phillips said although there were multiple smoke detectors located throughout the home, only one of them went off. The rest presumably had dead batteries or were otherwise nonfunctional.

Phillips then issued a reminder for people to change the batteries in their smoke detectors and test them every six months. 

“A good way to remember it is to do it when the time changes,” he said, referring to the switchover to and from daylight saving time.

Updated Jan. 3, 4 p.m. to include additional information from Cedar City Police Department about the extraction effort to rescue the home’s resident.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jeff Richards, a native of Salt Lake City with family roots in Panguitch, lived in Moab for 20 years before joining St. George News in 2017. Jeff is a longtime journalist and secondary school teacher. He and his wife Penny are the parents of five daughters. They also have three young grandsons. Jeff and his family enjoy swimming, camping, sightseeing, reading, and taking pictures.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @stgnews@moabjeff@stgnewssports

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