St. George firefighters respond to structure fire in community near Southern Parkway

Written by Mori Kessler
January 30, 2024

ST. GEORGE — Multiple fire crews descended on a home in the White Trails community by the Southern Parkway while a large plume of black smoke billowed into the air from the flames.

The cause of a house fire on Honeycomb Drive is currently under investigation by the St. George Fire Department, St. George, Utah, Jan. 30, 2024 | Photo courtesy of KJ Bylund, St. George News

Between seven and nine fire apparatus (engines and ladder trucks) and their crews were dispatched from the St. George Fire Department to a home on Honeycomb Drive around 5 p.m. after receiving a report of a structure fire. What they found was a garage fully engulfed in flames.

“When we arrived on scene we saw smoke and flames coming out of the garage probably 15-20 feet high,” St. George Fire Battalion Chief Rick Nelson said.

The initial attack on the fire from two engine companies knocked down the fire “pretty rapidly” and helped keep the fire from reaching too far into the home proper, Nelson said. However, due to the damage, the home’s occupants have been displaced for now, he said.

Two of the people living in the home were examined by Gold Cross Ambulance personnel and declined to be taken to St. George Regional Hospital.

Any noticeable flames were extinguished by 5:30 p.m. as fire crews continued to work on the garage and search for any possible hot spots they might have missed. By 6 p.m., Nelson said they were in overhaul and mopping up the operation.

Firefighters respond to a house fire on Honeycomb Drive near the Southern Parkway. The cause of the fire is currently unknown, St. George, Utah, Jan. 30, 2024 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

A vehicle kept inside the garage along with whatever had been stored inside was destroyed by the fire, along with another vehicle that was parked in the driveway.

As for the cause of the fire and an estimate on damages, Nelson said those both points were currently under investigation.

During the fire people driving on the Southern Parkway began to stop and take photos and video of the flames as the road was just on the other side of the home’s brick fence. Authorities soon arrived and asked the onlookers to move along.

KJ Bylund posted a video to St. George News’ Facebook page of the fire that showed the flames prior to the fire department’s arrival. During the video a series of pops can be heard that another Facebook commenter said had been firearms ammunition stored in the garage.

This report is based on statements from police, emergency personnel or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2024, all rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mori Kessler serves as a Senior Reporter for St. George News, having previously contributed as a writer and Interim Editor in 2011-12, and an assistant editor from 2012 to mid-2014. He began writing news as a freelancer in 2009 for Today in Dixie, and joined the writing staff of St. George News in mid-2010. He enjoys photography and won an award for photojournalism from the Society of Professional Journalists for a 2018 photo of a bee inspector removing ferals bees from a Washington City home. He is also a shameless nerd and has a bad sense of direction.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @MoriKessler@STGnews

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