This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Six people were displaced Thursday after an intense fire damaged two Taylorsville homes.
Investigators suspect a home project involving heated glass and rubbing alcohol in the garage of a house at 3785 W. Dimrall Dr. (5585 South) started the blaze. A resident of the home had been working on the project about 30 minutes before the fire was reported at about 2:10 p.m.
Firefighters declared a two-alarm fire en route to the house and when they arrived, saw flames "burning intensely" through the roof of the garage, said Unified Fire Authority Capt. Cliff Burningham. There were no vehicles in the garage, as it was mostly used as a work station, but there were oxygen and propane tanks that would have accelerated the fire, Burningham said.
The fire had also spread to a wooden fence on the property and the roof of the house next door.
It was 30 minutes before firefighters, some from West Jordan and West Valley City who had come to help, knocked down both blazes. By then, the fire had destroyed the garage and damaged the kitchen and living room of the first home, and burned up much of the roof of the second.
Firefighters had to tear out sheetrock from the roofs of both homes to help contain the flames. During the process, a big chunk of sheetrock fell and hit a firefighter's shoulder. Another firefighter also suffered heat exhaustion, but both injuries were minor and neither firefighter was taken to the hospital, Burningham said.
Burningham estimated the damage at up to $250,000 between the two houses. After repairs, he believes the family of five from the first home and the one person from the second should eventually be able to return to them.