No one hurt, but fire
destroys Spring City home
By Robert Stevens
Managing editor
Nov. 2, 2017
SPRING CITY—Improper disposal of wood fire stove ashes has led to the total loss of a Spring City home earlier this month.
On Saturday, Oct. 21 about 9 a.m. both the Spring City and Mt. Pleasant City fire departments responded to the home of Don Walker—which is also his place of business, Walker Custom Boots.
The southern half of the home was already consumed in flames by the time the crews arrived, but Walker was next door in his boot shop when the house ignited, so he was not injured.
The only injury reported was a person treated for smoke inhalation who stopped to spray the burning home with a garden hose. He was treated by North Sanpete Ambulance EMTs and released.
According to Spring City Fire Chief Clarke Christensen, there were roughly 15 volunteer firemen on the scene between the Spring City and Mt. Pleasant fire crews.
The Walker home is being judged as a total loss, with potentially as much as $150,000 of fire and smoke damage incurred.
Because the cause of fire was determined as improper disposal of ashes from a wood burning stove, Christensen wants to emphasize that anyone heating a structure with a wood or coal stove take proper measures to dispose of their ashes—storing them in a non-flammable container, kept away from any flammable materials.
Christensen says that you should not dump your stove ashes into a garbage can, because items that may smolder or burn for long periods of time, such as coal embers, can easily ignite the can or its contents.
