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PROVO -- A fire left seven people homeless after it ripped through their duplex Sunday.
Firefighters say the fire started after a faulty refrigerator caught flame in the garage and spread into the home located on 730 South and 500 West in Provo.
The homeowner was taking a shower on the upper level of the duplex when she heard the automatic garage door go up. According to firefighters, she then got out of the shower and got dressed to go to the garage and investigate. She saw the fire and smoke and quickly took her three young children outside and then warned the three adult tenants downstairs.
There were no working smoke detectors in the home, and firefighters say that the timing of the fire could have saved the lives of the residents.
"If it had happened in the middle of the night with no working smoke detectors, there would have been a high probability of fatalities," said Capt. Tom Torgersen of the Provo Fire Department.
Neighbors who witnessed the fire expressed relief that the family and tenants were safe, as well as gratitude to the fire department for their quick action that kept the blaze from spreading.
"Scary this close to home, you know," said Dallas Jeffs, a neighbor. "We have three kids ourselves, and just being able to feel the heat of that fire, knowing that everything's gone in seconds."
Firefighters estimate the fire caused about $75,000 in damage to the home, plus additional damage done to three cars. The three kids in the home were eight and under. The Red Cross has extended help to the family and the downstairs tenants with shelter for the night.
