Ogden teen killed in house fire

A 15-year-old girl was killed in a house fire in Ogden early Friday morning.

Ogden police declined to formally release the victim's name, but family and friends have identified her as Yvette Begay. Family friends provided the Deseret Morning News with a photograph.

"The death doesn't appear to be anything suspicious," said Ogden Police Lt. Scott Conley.

The fire was first reported at 7:04 a.m. in the 300 block of 32nd Street.

"On arrival, they had heavy smoke and fire coming out of the residence," said Ogden deputy fire chief Chad Tucker. "A lot of fire coming out of the basement."

Tucker said six children and their mother were in the home when the fire started.

"One person tried to reach in the window and tried to get the victim out," he said. "The victim tried to crawl out the window."

The smoke and flames made it impossible for the girl to escape, Tucker said.

As firefighters responded, a dog came after the crews and kept them from entering the front yard. The firefighters at first had to fight the fire from over the fence until a family member grabbed the dog and held it back.

Because the basement window was too small, Tucker said they used chainsaws and other tools to make a hole in the house.

"The victim was found in the basement," he said.

The fire started in the back part of the basement, authorities said. Late Friday afternoon, investigators had to back out of the home because the flooring was too unstable to go in to look at the fire scene, Tucker said.

Investigators are still trying to determine a cause, but Tucker said it did not appear to be suspicious. Another family member was taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com