BBQ fire spreads to attic of Bloomington Hills home; residents might be displaced

Written by Mori Kessler
September 2, 2022

ST. GEORGE — A barbecue fire in the backyard of a Bloomington Hills home that found its way into the attic late Friday afternoon that may have displaced the home’s occupants.

St. George Firefighters respond to a house fire on Chokeberry Drive in Bloomington Hills, St. George, Utah, Sept. 2, 2022 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

The St. George Fire Department responded to the report of a house fire on Chokeberry Drive in Bloomington Hills shortly after 4:30 p.m.

“The original report said it (the fire) came from a barbecue on the patio,” St. George Fire Battalion Chief Robert Hooper said at the scene.

The barbecue grill had been right next to the house, which allowed flames to reach up the outer wall and into the eves. From there it went into the attic where firefighters found “a pretty active fire,” Hooper said.

Firefighters spent the next 20 minutes extinguishing the flames while smoke escaped parts of the attic. However, the smoke dissipated as the fire was doused.

With the fire primarily dealt with, firefighters turned their attention to checking other parts of the attic and removed smoldering insulation along the way. They did this to make sure the fire was completely out and didn’t start up again.

As for what caused the barbecue to ignite, Hooper said that is under investigation.

While he made no estimate regarding the potential costs in damages to the home, the battalion chief said the home’s occupants likely were going to be displaced until repairs were made to the building.

No one was hurt in connection to the fire, he said.

Approximately 16 firefighters, four fire engines and one ladder truck arrived at the scene to combat the fire. A response of this size is standard procedure for the fire department when called to a house fire.

A rekindle of the original fire was reported after 7 p.m. and subsequently was extinguished.

Photo Gallery

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

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mori Kessler serves as a Senior Reporter for St. George News, having previously contributed as a writer and Interim Editor in 2011-12, and an assistant editor from 2012 to mid-2014. He began writing news as a freelancer in 2009 for Today in Dixie, and joined the writing staff of St. George News in mid-2010. He enjoys photography and won an award for photojournalism from the Society of Professional Journalists for a 2018 photo of a bee inspector removing ferals bees from a Washington City home. He is also a shameless nerd and has a bad sense of direction.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @MoriKessler@STGnews

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!