Utah firefighter suffers heat exhaustion at house fire

By Lana Groves
The Desert Morning News

WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — A West Valley firefighter was taken to a hospital with heat exhaustion after battling a grass-turned-house fire early Thursday.

Officials say the fire started from an arcing power line that caught some grass on fire.

The fire then spread to a fence and back patio area of a home on the 900 West block of Rawhide Drive (3615 South) at about 12:30 a.m.

Unified Fire, West Valley and West Jordan fire crews responded to the blaze, which quickly extended to the attic space.

The house was in foreclosure and had been vacated four months prior to the fire, West Valley Assistant Fire Chief Kris Romijn said.

It took crews 30 minutes to contain the fire and another half-hour mopping up.

The firefighter was taken to Pioneer Valley Hospital, where he was treated and later released. Officials said the firefighter is now back at work.

Copyright © 2012 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.    Terms and Conditions Privacy Policy