Fire leaves historic American Fork mansion destroyed, several pets killed
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- A charred roof and smoke is shown from the top of a burning home in American Fork on Saturday, June 7, 2025.
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- An American Fork Fire and Rescue vehicle is shown on the scene of a residential fire in American Fork on Saturday, June 7, 2025.
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- Yellow caution tape is shown outside of a historic mansion in American Fork that caught on fire Saturday, June 7, 2025.
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- Onlookers watch as smoke continues to billow from the top of a historic mansion that caught fire Saturday, June 7, 2025 in American Fork.
Fire crews spent the majority of Saturday battling a residential fire in an American Fork neighborhood that left numerous pets dead.
The blaze started at a well-known large structure, known as Chipman’s Mansion, located at 280 South and Center Street.
Battalion Chief Brandon Boshard with the American Fork Fire Department said it was an off-duty firefighter with Unified Fire Authority who just happened to be in the area with his son when he discovered the burning home just before 11 a.m.
“He was just driving in the area and saw some smoke, so he went to investigate and pulled up and found the house on fire,” Boshard said.
The off-duty firefighter called 911 and began to help with rescue efforts.
Fortunately, the American Fork Fire and Rescue station is just a few blocks away from where the fire was taking place, so crews were able to quickly respond.
Boshard said the fire was burning throughout several floors of the home, with smoke coming from multiple windows, which made fire attack efforts more difficult.
“The homeowner was not home when the fire started,” he said. “She arrived shortly after crews arrived and confirmed for us that no one was in the home. We were able to get a quick search of the house before we had to pull out.”
Around six or seven cats were rescued from the burning home, but the fire claimed several other pets that were inside the structure.
“We were able to get as many animals out as we possibly could. But due to the extensive progression of the fire, we had to pull firefighters out and go defensive and fight it from the outside,” Boshard explained.
Numerous belongings were also salvaged, but the home sustained extensive damage.
Due to the intensity of the fire and the large size of the property, additional crews from Pleasant Grove, Lone Peak, Lehi and Orem were also called to help.
Boshard said the home’s age and lack of fire breaks presented another challenge for firefighters because the smoke and flames were able to spread more easily.
“It’s such a beautiful home, which is so tragic, but because of the building construction, there’s a lot of void spaces and a lot of areas for that fire to just progress unchecked. And that’s kind of what we ran into today,” he explained.
According to Preservation Utah, the mansion was built in the 1850s. Its unique design and brick structure signals the early architecture in American Fork.
It was purchased in the mid-1900s by Dave and Afton Fitzen, who restored the home and its gardens, according to a Deseret News article published in 1990.
A group of onlookers were seen standing adjacent to the home early Saturday evening, watching as smoke continued to billow from the top of the mansion, hours after the inferno began.
As of 7 p.m., fire crews were still on site monitoring the scene, as the fire was not fully extinguished.
“I believe we got a good handle on it, but we are a little worried about some rekindles,” Boshard said.
The cause of the fire is unknown. An investigation by American Fork and the State Fire Marshal’s office was said to be underway.
