Residential Fire – Part 1

Welcome to a new feature on the UDK website- our blog! This is where we will discuss disasters we have kleened up for folks around Utah as well as preventative measures you can take to at least mitigate damage to the home. 

Our first week we are discussing a 2020 house fire in Hurricane, Utah.

What happened?

Clearing brush and weeds from your home is an ordinary enough yard chore that typically has a very low accident rate (green thumb or not). However, when escalating from just pulling weeds to burning them- then things can get out of hand quickly.

What should have been a typical day performing routine yard work in May 2020 quickly turned into a devastating house fire for a Hurricane family. 

In trying to be as economical as possible, the family burned the weeds they pulled from their yard. Unfortunately, the weeds were not burned in a safe area. 

Because neither a safe area away from the home nor a fire pit was used in burning the weeds which resulted in a stray ember being carried under the stucco walls of the attic and causing considerable fire and smoke damage before being noticed. 

What can be done to prevent such a fire in the future?

To paraphrase Smokey the Bear, “Only you can prevent house fires!” While there are a lot of preventable measures you can take, the most effective measures are simple. 

Preventable Steps:

1. Adhere to all city and county ordinances when it comes to burning on your property – if the city does not recommend burning weeds in the front yard, do not burn weeds in the front yard. 
2. Closely monitor any controlled fires – Given that embers from the fire became stuck under stucco walls, it is vital to monitor any controlled fire for stray embers. 
3. Use a fire pit – When burning anything, dig a small fire pit and line it with dirt in case the fire needs to be immediately snuffed out. Fire pits also help prevent embers from being carried away by the wind. 

Do not try to put the fire out on your own! Call 911 immediately after securing other members of your household and pets. As painful as it might be to leave the fire to professionals, fires can quickly spread out of control and are best left to professionals to take care of. 

Emergency Preparedness

Disasters are not just something that happens to someone else, they can strike anyone at any time and it pays to be prepared. Developing an escape plan in case of house fires can help get the family on the same page about where to go and what to do when a fire breaks out, including where to go that’s safe and away from the house. 

You can also take a look at a few of our older social media posts to help determine what needs to be in your emergency bag.

After the fire department was called to put the blaze out the owners of the home called us and we sprang into action. Check out next week’s blog post for a full rundown of the damage done to the home and the following week for the most exciting part: The Kleenup! 

Call our non-emergency line for more information on how we can kleenup any disaster your home has encountered, big or small! 

To learn more about how UDK restores homes after a fire check out our Fire and Smoke Damage Restoration and Repair page!