Resident displaced after fire destroys St. George home

Firefighters battle blaze burning through a single-family home on North Dixie Downs Road where firefighters arrive to find flames and smoke, St. George, Utah, June 6, 2022 | Submitted photo, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — What started as a cooking fire ultimately destroyed a single-occupant home and left one resident displaced Monday night.

Firefighters battle blaze burning through a single-family home on North Dixie Downs Road where firefighters arrived to find flames and smoke, St. George, Utah, June 6, 2022 |  Reader submitted photo, St. George News

At 9:40 p.m. the St. George Fire Department was dispatched to a structure fire involving a single-family home in a mobile home park in the 1500 block of North Dixie Downs Road.

St. George Fire Chief Robert Stoker told St. George News that multiple engines and a ladder truck arrived to find heavy smoke and flames visible from the home. The occupant was able to evacuate and was treated for minor smoke inhalation by Gold Cross paramedics at the scene.

The St. George Police Department also sent officers to cordon off the area as firefighters fought the blaze that, by then, had spread from the kitchen to other parts of the structure.

The fire continued to burn for nearly an hour before the active flames were extinguished. Crews then began the task of overhauling the residence in search of burning embers, including pulling material from the scorched area to extinguish anything still smoldering and prevent a reignition that could cause a secondary fire, a task that ensued well into the early morning hours of Tuesday.

Stoker said the home was a double-wide manufactured home with a wood frame that burned quickly. Suppression efforts moved rapidly to prevent the blaze from spreading to any nearby structures.

The area off Dixie Downs where the fire was reported is densely populated, he said, with structures, mobile homes and trailers situated in close proximately to one another. As such, multiple structures were threatened.

“And it’s that lack of clearance space that makes these fires so challenging,” Stoker said, “because it can spread to nearby structures so quickly.”

The fire started in the kitchen where the homeowner was cooking and then spread throughout the home, which left the entire structure heavily damaged in the blaze.

Firefighters battle blaze burning through a single-family home on North Dixie Downs Road where firefighters arrived to find flames and smoke, St. George, Utah, June 6, 2022 | Reader submitted photo, St. George News

The residence was rendered uninhabitable, the chief said, and a family member of the homeowner responded to the scene to assist. The Fire Department also contacted the American Red Cross of Utah that arranged for emergency shelter and temporary provisions for the displaced resident.

The St. George Fire Department responded with five engines, a ladder truck and a heavy rescue truck, along with the St. George Police Department, Gold Cross Ambulance and a St. George City utility crew.

No injuries to firefighters or civilians were reported.

This report is based on statements from police, emergency personnel or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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