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SANDY -- Two adults and two children were inside a Sandy home near 400 East and 8000 South when it caught fire at about 8:30 this morning. All of them were able to get out, thanks to quick-thinking neighbors.
The family members could smell smoke, but they had no idea their house was on fire until they got that knock on the door from a neighbor who saw the flames as she was passing by.
"Sick, this makes me sick. I don't know. What do you do?" said homeowner Robby Jones.
Eyewitnesses say the fire moved quickly through the home. Video shot by a neighbor shows the smoke turned into flames, shooting 20 to 30 feet in the air.
The fire started in the garage then quickly spread to the main section of the house. When firefighters arrived they had a difficult time getting to the flames because power lines had collapsed in front of the house.
Eventually, crews were able to knock the fire down, but not before it destroyed nearly everything inside.
Jones and his family feel lucky to have made it out safe, but they can't help but think of everything they lost: their home, family pictures, even one of their cars -- a Dodge Charger.
"You can't be prepared for that. It happened so fast," Jones said.
"Things that they can't replace are the personal effects, you know, pictures, family records, things like that. Everything else will be replaced, but those things can never be replaced, and that's the sad part," Assistant Sandy Fire Chief Richard Lyman said.
The neighbors were able to help the residents get one of their vehicles out, a Mercedes. Other than that, firefighters are calling the house a complete loss.
One neighbor told us the homeowners had recently remodeled the home.
Firefighters credit neighbors for their quick reaction and say it may have saved lives.
The Red Cross is working with the family to provide their basic needs.
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Story compiled with contributions from Courtney Orton, Shara Park and Adam Thomas.
