2 homes catch fire; 2 people are injured

Two families were without homes and two people suffered serious injuries Thursday in fires officials say were accidental.

The first blaze erupted about 11 p.m. Wednesday in a South Salt Lake apartment when a candle was knocked off a night stand by children playing on a bed. The children's mother was drawing a bath for the two boys, ages 3 and 5, when the accident occurred, South Salt Lake Fire Chief Steve Foote said.

"The candle went down to the bed and it immediately just erupted in flames," Foote said.

The mother grabbed her children and all three were able to flee to safety.

When fire crews arrived at the apartment near 300 East and 3400 South, they found heavy smoke coming from the building. About 25 residents from surrounding apartments were evacuated.

The fire was contained to the bedroom. The family will not be able to return to their apartment for several weeks, however. Damage was estimated at about $25,000.

"The good news is these kids will still have a Christmas," Foote said. "This could have been a real bad fire."

Foote said the fire underscores the need to be extremely careful with candles.

"We keep running into these fires that are caused by candles," he said.

A Salt Lake couple was less fortunate, both suffering second-degree burns from a fire sparked by an electrical malfunction at their home near 1040 North and 1030 West, Salt Lake City Fire Assistant Chief Dennis McKone said.

The couple was asleep but awoke about 4:40 a.m. Thursday to the sound of the fire alarm and the crackling blaze, McKone said. They were able to escape out the back door of the residence. A neighbor gave the couple some clothes, McKone said. The man, however, then tried to go back into the burning home to rescue the family dog.

He suffered burns to his face, shoulder and feet and will remain at the University of Utah Medical Center burn unit for several days, McKone said. The woman also suffered burns to her face and was expected to be released from the hospital Friday.

The house is structurally sound, but the insides were gutted by the fire, McKone said. An early estimate places damages at about $180,000. Fire investigators say the cause is accidental and that the electrical problem started in an office-type room adjacent to the kitchen.

Twenty-seven Salt Lake firefighters took 30 minutes to extinguish the blaze, McKone added.

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