This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Saturday morning fire destroyed an abandoned home at 5894 S. Utah Highway 111 (about 7200 West) in Salt Lake County.
According to Captain Fitzgerald Petersen of the Unified Fire Department, U-111 will likely be shut down until early Saturday afternoon because crews needed to stretch hoses several thousand feet across the highway to fight the blaze.
"It was an abandoned house about 250 feet off the road," he said. "There was no water. The house was built years before there were codes. We think tank water was used for culinary water. There were no hydrants. We were able to knock down the fire on arrival but it flared out several minutes later. The only hydrant was several thousand feet away."
Petersen said the fire was whipped by strong wings in the area. The ceiling collapsed and the house was a total loss. Homeowners have been contacted and a backhoe called to knock down the remaining walls to make it safe.
"It was fascinating where they had to work so hard to get water supply," said Petersen. "That just doesn't happen in this valley very often."
The fire captain said the cause of the fire was being investigated. He said reports from police show there have been trespassers reported at the structure.