55-year-old is pulled from house fire in Kearns

Firefighters pulled a critically injured man from a burning home Tuesday evening in Kearns.

Unified Fire Authority firefighters were called about 4:30 p.m. to the home, near 5900 South and 4000 West. When the first crew arrived, there was enough smoke coming from the building that a firefighter called for backup, spokesman Eric Holmes said.

As firefighters attempted to quell the flames and smoke, a search team swept the home and found a 55-year-old man, Unified Police Department Detective Ken Hansen said.

Team members pulled the man outside, and he was taken to the hospital in critical condition, Hansen said.

Crews extinguished the fire by 5 p.m., Holmes said.

The fire caused a “fair amount” of damage in the home’s living room, and its front windows were broken.

Fire investigators didn’t find an “obvious origin” for the blaze. Holmes said he expects they would stay at the home into the night before coming to a conclusion — if they do.

“More residential fires go undetermined than get solved, unfortunately, just due to the nature of the fire damage,” he said. “We’ll keep our fingers crossed to try to get some resolution and move on from there.”

Unified police also responded to the scene to guide traffic near the house. Holmes said they weren’t investigating foul play.