Fire crews battle blaze in American Fork neighborhood after off-duty firefighter spots smoke
Jun 7, 2025, 3:33 PM | Updated: Jun 19, 2025, 11:36 am
Scene of a house fire in American Fork on Saturday, June 7, 2025. (American Fork Fire Department)
(American Fork Fire Department)
AMERICAN FORK — Fire crews were battling a house fire in American Fork for much of Saturday, but it was an off-duty firefighter who first jumped into action.
The fire started in a large home in the area of 200 South and Center Street. Battalion Chief Brandon Boshard with the American Fork Fire Department said the single occupant in the home was accounted for.
Boshard said an off-duty firefighter with the Unified Fire Authority was out for a drive with his six-year-old son just before 11 a.m. That’s when he noticed smoke coming from the window of a home, and he went to help.
“He called 911, he gave his cell phone to his six-year-old son and left him in the car, and went to work,” Boshard said. “(He) made contact with the occupant to ensure she was safely out and tried to evacuate animals, and help the homeowner with whatever she needed.”
In another stroke of luck, one of American Fork’s fire departments was located only about three blocks away from the fire, so crews were able to respond very quickly, Boshard said.
“On our crew’s arrival, we had heavy smoke coming out of multiple windows of the home… It is a very old home and it’s also very set back off of the roadway, which made access into the home very difficult for our firefighters,” Boshard said.
He said the fire was already on multiple floors of the house, but firefighters were still able to perform a thorough search to make sure nobody was inside. Crews were able to rescue several cats, Boshard said, but some cats did not survive.
After finishing the search and rescuing animals, firefighters had to evacuate the house and fight the fire from the outside. Just before 2 p.m., Boshard said crews would still be on scene for hours putting out the fire.
“There is that potential that we could be on this fire into tomorrow,” the chief said.
Boshard said some of the home had collapsed in the fire, and a gas company was on scene to prevent a leak. There was no word yet on how the fire may have began.
This is a breaking news story and may be updated.
