Fire rips through renovated Ogden structure

OGDEN — Sue Wilkerson was just one day away from showing off her newly renovated triplex apartment building.

Early Tuesday, however, the structure at 2700 S. Jefferson Ave. suffered at least $130,000 in damage in a fire that investigators believe started in the basement and burned through the floor of the home's main level.

"Everything was done — the carpet, the paint, new appliances. It was absolutely gorgeous on the inside. So I think the first thing I do is work to get it back to that. It was a great historic property," Wilkerson said Tuesday, trying to take the incident in stride. "I guess we start over building again."

The house was built in the 1920s, and Wilkerson had owned it for the past seven years.

Neighbors started calling 911 about 1 a.m. Tuesday. The first arriving crews found heavy smoke and flames coming from the rear of the structure. Firefighters needed between 20 to 30 minutes to extinguish the blaze, said Ogden Battalion Chief Hal Van Meeteren.

A total of 19 firefighters from Ogden and Roy responded to the scene. No injuries were reported.

The fire was believed to have started in the basement and may have been smoldering for a while. The cause of the fire was still under investigation Tuesday, Van Meeteren said.

— Pat Reavy

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