Tenants escape Coalville house fire safely

North Summit volunteer firefighters first to arrive, no one injured

By ANNA BLOOM, Of the Record staff

Last Thursday, the two tenants of a Coalville house on Chalk Creek Road survived a fire in the middle of the night that burned their home down to what the North Summit Fire District claims as a "total loss."
Owners Bruce and Beverly Chappell were impressed by the immediate response of the North Summit volunteer firefighters.

"When the renters woke us up, my kids and I went out to watch. My husband and son tried to work on it with hoses, but it was too big. The fire was already seething out the windows when we got outside," Beverly Chappell recalls. "[The volunteers] were really quick about it and did a good job and we were surprised at how fast they got here We'd really just like to thank them for all their hard work."

Chappell says the seven-room home has been in her husband's family for generations.

"I don't know exactly [how old the house is]. My husband bought it before we were married he's definitely had it for more than 25 years. He bought it from his family who bought it from his great uncle, who bought it from his uncle," she explained.

Since the home had been a rental, Chappell reports no family heirlooms were lost.

Nine fire trucks, one ambulance, and 17 fire personal responded to the incident, arriving at approximately 4:47 a.m. on Sept. 22, according to the latest report from North Summit Fire Commissioner Tyler Rowser.

"To clarify, all nine of the fire trucks did not all come from Coalville, they came from three different fire stations from Coalville, Henefer and Wanship," he said.

Rowser estimates the total damage at $96,000. Nearly $84,000 worth of home property was lost and another $12,000 personal property was lost, he said.

The tenants woke up in the middle of the night to the smell of their house burning, according to Rowser there was no alarm that detected the smoke, according to his report.

Though Rowser says that the fire began as a result of a candle left burning, the cause of the fire is still under investigation and witnesses are still being questioned.

The fire did not spread, and those that responded at the scene prevented the fire from reaching surrounding trees and neighboring homes, he explained. The fire lasted about an hour, he said.

"They were very lucky," Rowser said of the two that survived. "Nothing is left. Absolutely nothing."

According to Chappell, the family hasn't decided whether or not to rebuild the home.

"It's in pretty bad shape, so we haven't decided for sure what will happen next," she said. "But we have had some offers to help us with the demolition."