This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A fire that burned in a Sandy garage Friday afternoon totaled a car inside and spread smoke damage throughout the adjoining house, fire officials said.
Sandy Fire Deputy Chief Bruce Cline said the fire started in the car's engine compartment while a man was doing some repair work on the vehicle. He tried to extinguish it without success and escaped before getting injured, Cline said. Everyone else living in the home also escaped without harm.
Firefighters were called to the scene near 900 East on 8475 South at about 2:20 p.m. Dark smoke could be seen throughout the valley.
The fire quickly spread throughout the garage, aided by cans of gasoline and other flammables stored inside. Cline said that homeowners should avoid storing flammables inside garages, suggesting using an outdoor shed or at least putting them in non-flammable containers.
The flames spread through windows in the garage and caused fire damage to two bedrooms above and to a snowmobile trailer parked outside.
Cline said the exact cause of the fire was undetermined but suspected it had something to do with the work the man was doing on the car. He described the vehicle as a total loss.
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