Lehi man dies when fire consumes garage

A Lehi man was killed in a fire early Saturday morning that consumed the detached garage where he lived.

Another man escaped the burning home near 900 North and 400 East without injury.

Lehi Fire Department Battalion Chief Rick Howard said the blaze began sometime before 1:30 a.m. When fire crews arrived at the home, it was covered in flames, and the attic where the victim was believed to be had collapsed.

Witnesses and neighbors at the scene reported that the man was in his mid- to late-20s, Howard said. The man's identity has not been released.

"I stepped out of my house to respond and could see the glow of the fire," said Howard, who lives about six blocks from the home. "That's never a good thing. I knew then it was fully involved."

The structure the two men were living in had been divided into separate living quarters, with living space on the first and second floors. Howard said the man living on ground level was able to escape, but there was little time for the resident above to escape before the roof collapsed.

The fire was contained within 45 minutes; the cause is unknown.

Two cars were also damaged by the blaze, and nearby homes sustained minimal damage.

The garage is a total loss, Howard said, estimating the damage at between $65,000 and $75,000.

Other house fires over the weekend kept multiple fire departments busy.

In Spanish Fork Canyon, two cats were killed in a fire that started in the furnace room of a home. A woman staying there tried to douse the flames with a fire extinguisher but was unsuccessful, said Utah County Fire Marshal Dennis Parker.

The fire caused about $150,000 in damage. It may have been exacerbated by boxes of papers stored in the room.

"People shouldn't really store stuff in furnace rooms like that," Parker said.

The owners of the home were in Arizona on Saturday.

Firefighters said they believed the home can be rehabilitated if it undergoes extensive remodeling.

In Ogden on Saturday morning an attic burned near 3500 Porter Ave. It may have started when flames escaped from the flue of a woodburning stove, said Ogden Fire Chief Mike Wood. The fire destroyed joists in the roof, causing about $10,000 in damage.

Residents of the structure were able to escape safely.