Salt Lake County fire officials plan to ask the Salt Lake City-County Health Department to condemn what remains of an unoccupied house that caught fire Monday morning.
Firefighters responded to a call at 6:14 a.m. at 5061 S. 4900 West to find the kitchen of the house engulfed in flames. Firefighters who stepped inside the front door to put the fire out tripped over several piles of rubbish, Salt Lake County Fire Capt. Bill Brass said.The rubbish, which included clothing, furniture, food, animal waste and other debris, was piled about 6 feet high throughout the home, Brass said.
Neighbors told firefighters the person who lived in the house had died about six months ago and no one has been living there.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but it is possible that piles of garbage could spontaneously ignite as materials decompose, Brass said.
Fire investigators are also checking into the condition of the furnace and the electrical system in the home.
The small fire was extinguished quickly, but fire officials are not making any damage estimates because of the condition of the interior, Brass said.
"We're going to ask the health department to condemn it," he said.