A Salt Lake jeweler received second- and third-degree burns on 50 percent of his body Monday night in a fire at his store.
The unidentified man, 42, owns The Time Shop Jewelers, 24 W. 100 South, which caught on fire about 7:20 p.m. Monday.
The man was inside the shop, which was closed for business Monday night, with his 11-year-old daughter. He was able to get his daughter out, Salt Lake fire spokesman Dennis McKone said.
Two security guards from Crossroads Plaza saw the man struggling to get out by lifting a steel door on the store's front.
"He was trying to get out through the door," McKone said. "(The guards) lifted the door a little and were able to get him out."
The man was in critical condition when he was transported to University Hospital's burn unit. He also suffered from smoke inhalation.
Fire investigators have been unable to talk to the victim to determine what he was doing when the fire started. They do not consider it suspicious, McKone said.
Fire was confined to a work area in the back of the store. Flames did not reach any jewelry. Firefighters doused the blaze with hoses they dragged into the store through a back door, McKone said.
Smoke, water and fire damage was estimated between $45,000 and $50,000.
Office space three floors above the store, located in the Crandall Building, received smoke damage, McKone said.
E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com