This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Given his last name, Unified Fire Capt. Cliff Burningham was bracing for the quips when he was called out late Thursday night on a fire — at a Magna pig farm.
"When I told my wife I was going out to a fire at pig farm, she laughed and said, 'Well, go get famous,'" Burningham said Friday.
Fortunately for the 40-50 pigs at the farm near 7500 West and 2050 South, there was no impromptu barbecue this time around.
About 50 firefighters — from UFA, West Valley City and Salt Lake City — responded to the two-alarm blaze at 9:15 p.m. Those first arriving focused on keeping flames away from the pigs and some RVs and trailers parked on the 5-acre parcel, and as additional crews arrived the fire was quickly knocked down.
"It took them about 30 minutes. It did fully involve a shed and because of the rural nature of the site, there were some challenges," Burningham said.
Fire hydrants in the area are widely spaced, so responding engines had to uncoil 2,000 feet of hose to bring a steady supply of water on the flames.
In the end, though, only the ramshackle shed, containing what appeared to be junk, was lost.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation.