The blackened remains of a child's bed was a frightening reminder Thursday morning of what could have happened when faulty wiring ignited the bedding the nighrt before.
Clive Zabriskie, 4068 S. 2665 West, said he left his bedroom after an electrical breaker tripped about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday. He saw smoke and flames coming from under the door of his boy's bedroom and called the fire department.Fortunately neither of the boys, 2-year-old Michael and 7-month-old Tyson, were in their bedroom when sparks from a wall outlet behind Michael's bed started the sheets and blanket on fire.
"I kept the fire down as much as I could by throwing water on it," Zabriskie said. "If (Michael) would have been in his bed he wouldn't have had a chance."
Zabriskie, his wife, Trudy, and their children got out of the house safely, and firefighters were able to knock the flames down quickly. Most of the estimated $4,000 damage was caused by smoke, said fire Capt. Jim Hill. "It smoked up thehouse pretty good."
The Zabriskie family had lived in the house at 4068 S. 2665 West just two weeks and had experienced electrical problems for the past three days, Hill said.
Blundell said problems associated with aluminum wiring used in the Bennion Plaza subdivision have caused fires in the past - a house several doors away from the home the Zabriskies are renting burned to the ground about three years ago.
While investigating the fire Thursday morning, Blundell pulled outlets from the walls in the master bedroom and in an upstairs loft. One had an improper splice and had signs of arcing. Insulation in the other outlet had burned away and the outlet signs of "resistance heating."
Blundell siad he will likely send letters to residents in the subdivision.
Meantime, fire officials said faulty electrical wiring was responsible for a Wednesday night fire at two South Salt Lake businesses.
South Salt Lake Fire Capt. Dee Brown said the wires set fire to a large bag of clothing on a shelf in an office between Gil's Radiator, 2775 S. Main and Downtown Motors, 2695 S. Main.