News short: Second shed fire in 4 hours caused by Christmas lights

A shed fire in Bloomington Hills caused minor damage Tuesday evening. St. George, Utah, June 7, 2016 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — While a shed fire Tuesday afternoon caused damage to the home nearby, a second shed fire four hours later in Bloomington Hills caused no damage — unless you consider an artificial Christmas tree and items the owner no longer wanted as damage.

A shed fire in Bloomington Hills caused minor damage Tuesday evening. St. George, Utah, June 7, 2016 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News
A shed fire in Bloomington Hills caused minor damage Tuesday evening. St. George, Utah, June 7, 2016 | Photo by Ric Wayman, St. George News

“My daughter came in and said there was a lot of smoke coming out of the shed,” homeowner Gary Tomlinson said. “I went out there, figured I could open it. I kept a gas can at the back of the shed, so I opened the door. The heat was pretty tremendous, I was surprised.”

Tomlinson and his wife Jan were able to get the gas can out of the shed and use the garden hose to keep the fire in check until firefighters showed up.

“Second shed fire today,” St. George Fire Battalion Chief Ken Guard said. “The fire was contained inside the shed. Minor damage to this shed compared to the other one.”

Guard said there was an unseasonable cause of this fire.

“It was electrical in nature. They had an old extension cord and some Christmas lights plugged in (that) shorted out and set a cardboard box on fire.

Tomlinson sustained a minor burn to his hand but refused transport to the hospital.

“Everything lost was either a Christmas tree or things we wanted to get rid of,” Tomlinson said.

Four St. George Fire Department engine companies responded with 23 firefighters, St. George Police provided traffic control, and Gold Cross Ambulance was on scene for medical.

This report is based on preliminary information provided by law enforcement or other emergency responders and may not contain the full scope of findings.

Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery.

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews | @NewsWayman

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2016, all rights reserved.

 

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.