Fire guts already-burned, abandoned building in Salt Lake

Fire officials are calling an early morning fire that destroyed an abandoned Salt Lake home suspicious.

Just after 2:30 a.m. Monday, dispatchers received several 911 calls from individuals who noticed heavy smoke and flames in an abandoned home at 1169 S. West Temple, said Salt Lake City Fire Battalion Chief Brian Dale.

No one has been living in the house for years, and the doors and windows had been blocked by boards to deter transients from using the home, Dale said.

Monday was the third time officers have battled a blaze there, but this time they didn't go in, as the floor already had been severely weakened due to fires in 2005 and 2006.

Crews went on the defense by shutting off power to the neighborhood for about 30 minutes while they doused the burning home with large streams of water from aerial platforms, Dale said. Then they used smaller hoses to reach specific hot spots.

The fire was fully extinguished by around 4 a.m., leaving the house a complete loss, Dale said.

Because the home was abandoned, there were no utilities hooked up, which makes Dale believe the fire was suspicious.

"The building had no power, no gas," he said. "There had to be a catalyst somewhere."

Dale said officers noticed several individuals sitting on the porch on Sunday, and it's possible someone went inside during the evening storm to cook something, then left it smoldering.

Officials will be investigating the scene and doing a more thorough check, since crews were not able to enter Monday morning, Dale said.

No firefighters were injured.

E-mail: sisraelsen@desnews.com