South Jordan family grateful for neighbors after devastating house fire

SOUTH JORDAN — One loud pop. That's all it took to change everything for the Burgoyne family.

The South Jordan family is now picking up the pieces after a fast-moving house fire Sunday evening burned nearly everything they owned.

"It's just a nightmare. It doesn't feel real," said Jody Burgoyne, standing outside of what is left of her home near Ozarks Drive and Mille Lacs Drive for the first time since the fire.

The family had recently purchased a lithium battery-powered e-scooter. South Jordan fire investigators believe that's where the fire began.

Burgoyne said she had heard about the potential danger with lithium batteries but never imagined something like this would happen.

"I was aware that there could be some danger with those batteries," she said. "I had heard those kinds of batteries do explode sometimes."

Security camera footage from the family's kitchen shows the flames spreading within seconds, as smoke quickly filled the house.

Burgoyne, her husband and their children managed to escape with one of their cats, but their other cat, Callie, didn't make it out.

"They found her underneath my bed upstairs," Burgoyne said. "She was curled up in a little ball. She just went to sleep."

Along with losing their beloved pet, Burgoyne also lost her home-based luxury resale business.

She sold handbags and designer clothing online, but now, all of it is gone because her inventory was in the house.

"I didn't have the chance to grab anything," she said.

Neighbors showed up in ways the Burgoyne's said they will never forget.

After firefighters salvaged some family photos, one neighbor took them and carefully pulled family photos from plastic albums and frames, then hung them out to dry, trying to save memories that can't be replaced.

"They're all baby pictures from my first two children, which I didn't have backed up," Jody Burgoyne said. "I didn't have an iPhone then. So, I'm so grateful."

Other neighbors have offered money, supplies and even just hugs.

While the family said they have lost almost everything, they know what truly matters survived.

"Our lives can't be replaced," Burgoyne said. "We are just grateful to be alive. It could have turned out so different."

A *GoFundMe page has been set up to help the family.

*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.

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