Woman's home a true gem in Salt Lake community's renovation

A bright smile swept over Brenda Marshall's face as she led two of her grandchildren into their home. It wasn't the same as when her father had bought it when she was 21 years old back in 1970. Nor was it the same as when they had lived in it before the devastating fire five years ago. Its familiar walls held all her memories of growing up, getting married, raising children and eventually her own grandchildren.

It all happened in this space.

And thanks to some dedicated community members, she has her house back. Sure, it has new walls, plumbing, electricity and carpeting. It needed a new roof, insulation, heating and air-conditioning. The front porch was repaired, and it has new appliances and sod for the yard.

But that doesn't change the meaning the space has to Brenda. It's hers, and despite financial and personal hardships she suffered following the fire, she could never bear to part with it — even when it was in complete disrepair, uninhabitable and boarded up.

It all began when Brenda had left her three grandchildren and their mother, her daughter, in her home while she went to attend a family function.

She wasn't gone more than 10 minutes before she received the heartbreaking news.

Her home was ablaze.

"January 9th, 2002. Around four p.m. I'll never forget that," Brenda said.

One of her grandsons, a toddler at the time, had managed to light a candle in the house. Some wax from the candle had spilled on his hand — causing him to drop the lit candle into a trash bin.

It ignited the contents of the bin and burned the entire back half of her home. Smoke damage ruined what was left.

"Maybe in a way, it was a blessing," Brenda said, smiling at the boy in her new kitchen. "In a way, he made this all possible."

Even though she couldn't live in the house, she couldn't sell it, either. It was hers. So she spent the next five years paying mortgage payments on her uninhabitable house on top of her rent and other necessities. But the emotional and financial strife weren't enough to make her abandon her home.

"I almost gave up three times," Brenda said. "But every time I went to sleep, there was a voice that said, 'Don't do it."'

Then she met Scott, who asked to remain anonymous, of Trackside LLC, a corporation in the neighborhood that had teamed up with Salt Lake Neighborhood Housing Services to help clean up the area.

She was standing at the gate of the remains of her home, staring — the windows boarded up — when he approached her. He asked if she owned it and if she would consider selling it — she wouldn't. He asked if she would be fixing it up — she didn't have the money to.