ST. GEORGE — A fire in the wall briefly threatened a townhome in the Bloomington neighborhood of St. George, but the quick work of City of St. George firefighters minimized damage to the structure.
Russ Butcher, the owner of the townhome at 952 W. Bloomington Drive South, said he and his wife, Jody Butcher, started smelling smoke about 4:30 p.m. They initially thought it was a brush or forest fire, he said, but as the day went on the smell got stronger. Finally, Russ Butcher said, he was on the second story and saw smoke. The Butchers then went around unplugging everything.
“Then we came outside and and we could see smoke creeping around from under the corner of that balcony,” Russ Butcher said, pointing to the balcony.
“Flames started coming out of that corner,” Jody Butcher said, “so I got the hose and started putting it out.”
The Butchers called 911 at that point. Firefighters were dispatched just before 7 p.m. and found smoke coming from the balcony.
St. George Fire Department Shift Capt. Robert Hooper said units arriving on the scene found smoke coming from the patio area.
“We made an initial attack and were able to stop the fire,” Hooper said. “The fire was stopped pretty quickly but we did do extensive searching for any extension into the attic or walls.”
There were 35 firefighters involved in the effort and seven engines, one ladder and one squad were called to the scene.
Hooper estimated $30,000 in damages to the home. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
“It was such good response,” said Russ Butcher, who had lived in the home for almost 15 years. “It’s not a pleasant experience, of course.”
“This city, this St. George, it just does good with all of it,” Russ Butcher said, “like the Fire Department, police, 911. It was good.”
This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.
St. George News Senior Reporter Mori Kessler contributed to this story.
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