By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Two homes in East Juab County have been damaged by fire
this holiday season.
The latest, Monday, Dec. 27, was a fire at the residence
of Ben and Sheryl Edwards, Levan, that occurred when the
Christmas tree lights were left on all night. The lights
caused the artificial tree to catch fire.
"Sheryl woke up during the night, coughing, and realized
the house was filled with smoke," said David Carter, Juab
County Sheriff.
He said Sheryl Edwards discovered the living room was the
location where the smoke was coming from and was able to
rouse and get the rest of the family members out of the
home.
"They were very, very lucky," said Carter. "Smoke can
overcome people while they are asleep and they never wake up
but die from smoke inhalation."
He said the quick response time of both the Levan Fire
Department and the Nephi Fire Department was credited with
keeping the home from being completely destroyed by the
blaze. The living room and kitchen were engulfed by the fire
before firefighters arrived on the scene.
The home was an older one and had been remodeled. As a
result, there were double ceilings in some of the rooms of
the house, said Carter. The fire crept along above some of
those ceilings and caused extensive damage.
"We called the state fire marshal to the scene to
determine the cause of the fire," said Carter. "He
determined the fire originated at the tree."
"People need to have smoke detectors in their homes and
they need to have working batteries in each of those
detectors," said Carter. In addition, he said, even
artificial trees labeled as fire retardant can catch on
fire.
The home where the Edwards family lived was owned by
Gloria Hunter, a local resident.
Two weeks ago, said Carter, a home in Mills, south of
Levan, was completely destroyed by fire. The home, owned by
Rick Wilburg, was a unoccupied at the time of the fire.
"A passing railroad train engineer spotted the fire and
reported it," said Carter. "The fire was determined to have
been caused by a short in the electrical system of the
house."
The home served as a weekend residence, or second home,
for Wilburg. "He bought it as a second home, and no one was
there when the fire broke out."
Carter said both Levan and Nephi Fire Departments
responded the fire scene and worked to douse the blaze.
However, the home had been burning for some time and
firefighters were unable to save it.
Carter said he wanted to compliment the two departments
for their quick response times as well as for the good
working relationship the two departments had with one
another.
"The fact that they were able to stop the fire so quickly
at the Edward's residence can be attributed to their quick
response time, their professionalism, and the fact that the
two departments work so well together."
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