Fire damages Holladay home, officials cite numerous obstacles to fighting the flames

HOLLADAY, Utah — A house fire in Holladay on Sunday has been extinguished.

The fire began a little before 3 p.m. on Sunday, Unified Fire Authority spokesman Kelly Bird said. The homeowner realized there was a fire and was able to get out safely, he said.

Fire crews arrived at the home in the area of the 2800 East block of Blue Spruce Drive where they encountered a lot of smoke and some flames, Bird said.

Numerous obstacles amounted to a challenge for fire crews at the home, but on Sunday night, officials said, “We were able to bring in a ladder truck to get above the roof line and extinguished the fire.”

Fire crews struggled earlier to find a way to access the home due to the number of shrubbery and trees on the property.

Once inside the home, crews attempted to locate where the fire first started, the “seat” of the fire, Bird said. The search for the seat of the fire was made more complicated by the older design of the floor plan and the amount of content in the home, Bird said.

These factors made it “difficult to navigate” inside the home, he said.

During the fight against the flames, the fire crews didn’t have any luck, Bird said, and the fire continued to grow and “spread throughout the entire home.” Fire crews were forced to back out of the house for their own safety and take up a defensive attack against the blaze.

No one was injured in the house fire and the neighboring homes were not under threat, Bird said.

Bird suggests that other homeowners take into account things like shrubbery that might make it more difficult to get into a home.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.