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Amanda Butterfield ReportingA Salt Lake couple who has lived in their home for at least 30 years has to find somewhere else to sleep tonight. Their home burned down.
This was a fire the whole neighborhood either saw, or heard.
"We heard two explosions."
"I heard, like I said, boom boom."
"We heard the sirens and there was smoke everywhere."
"The flames were up so high."
The entire neighborhood came out to see this fire. It was just before 4:00 in the afternoon when it was called in, and the couple that owns the home was inside. They were able to safely get out of the house with their dog.
They've lived there for decades. They raised six kids there, including a daughter who watched as her baby pictures and her grandmother's china was destroyed.
Fire crews know the fire started in the garage and the small explosions were from 1,000 rounds of small ammunition the owner admitted having in the basement. He was a gun collector. It's likely the 50 firefighters on scene weren't able to save any of his guns because the fire spread fast, up thru the attic. It consumed the home, eventually causing the roof to collapse.
Firefighters didn't even risk going in to fight the blaze, instead focusing on the exterior.
"It is quite close to all the other houses."
A little too close for some.
"No one wants to see their house go up in flames."
Damage estimates at over $500,000 for the home and its belongings.
