Spanish Fork home damaged in Sunday fire, department cites electrical cord as cause
Courtesy Kyle Webb
A house fire allegedly started from a an overloaded electrical cord in an unattached garage in Spanish Fork on Sunday, July 9, 2023A Spanish Fork home was damaged after a late-night fire on Sunday. The fire burned the bedroom, mudroom, attic space, and unattached garage of the home, located at 112 West 200 North.
The homeowner reported the fire to Spanish Fork Fire & EMS department at 10:07 p.m. while only the garage was on fire. SF fire chief Eddie Hales said people wouldn’t know there was a fire until going to the back of the property. “It’s the only way you could tell there was a fire there,” Hales said.
When the homeowner returned home from picking up his granddaughter he “noticed the fire burning heavily in the garage,” reads the press release. “He began evacuating the occupants inside the home as well as the neighbor’s home to the west.”
Within 1 hour and 15 minutes of arriving on scene, the fire was fought by three chief officers, 28 firefighters, four engines and one ladder truck.
An overloaded electrical cord sparked the fire, the department said, in an unattached garage near the home and as the fire units arrived on scene, heavy smoke and fire were coming from the garage and the flames were seen extending towards the home.
The overloaded cord in the garage was an extension cord with battery chargers, air conditioning units and other shop-type equipment hooked up.
“If you’re going to use an extension cord (it should be) used for temporary power, not permanent power fixtures, such as air conditioners and those types of things,” Hales said. “If you’re going to run a fan, and it’s going to be run for five or six hours and then you’re going to unplug it, then that’s what extension cords are used for. If you’re going to be using anything for longer than 10 to 12 hours with an extension cord, it’s not recommended.”
Hales said extension cords are not built to withstand power and heat it endures when used as a permanent power outlet. Over time, the power and friction will break down the cord, causing a fire. The fire department recommends people use power strip extension cords that are certified from Underwriters Laboratory and they should not “pigtail” extension cords together, plugging one into another to make them longer.
Five people living in the home were taken in by family and left with $200,000 in damages. The siding and vinyl fencing of a home to the west experienced thermal damage. Two people were also treated, and released, by medical personnel for smoke inhalation while one firefighter was treated for heat exhaustion.
