Fire burns shed, damages 2 American Fork homes
The most severely damaged of the two homes, vacant since its former tenant moved out less than a week ago, was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived just after 11:30 a.m. The entire west side of the home was scorched, leaving burned insulation hanging from the charred wooden framing. No one was injured in the fire, which burned at 577 E. 200 North.
For neighbor Lynn Painter, whose house was also damaged in the blaze, the wait for firefighters seemed to take longer than it actually was.
"Bless their hearts," she said, "waiting for (them) seemed like a long time."
Heat from the fire melted aluminum siding on the east side of the home she and her husband, Marion, have lived in for 27 years. The fire also destroyed a van parked in their driveway, damaged a sedan in the driveway, ruined most of a fence bordering the two properties and burned a tool shed on the Painters' property.
Cindy Rigby, who lives just around the corner, said she was walking to her house when she heard crackling coming from the neighboring property. Within minutes, she said, the house was engulfed in flames, prompting her to call 911 and grab a hose to start wetting down some trees and a shed on her adjoining property.
American Fork Fire Chief Jay Christensen said the fire started in the shed located on the property of the vacant home. He said his firefighters had the fire knocked down within 15 or 20 minutes, but not before it climbed up the side of the house and burned into the attic. The flames consumed nearly five trusses in the roof structure, which Christensen said was close to coming down. He didn't call the fire suspicious but said he would close off the property and notify the owner.
Neighbors said they didn't know the former tenants of the vacant home very well but said a woman with a number of cats had lived there for some time. They said the tenants always left the grounds covered in garbage and junk, far different than the way the previous owners cared for the property.
E-mail: jdavis@desnews.com
Recent comments
Another reason to have a full time fire department in AF. This won…
Marc | Sept. 5, 2008 at 8:00 a.m.
