Woods Cross man pulled from burning house dies

WOODS CROSS — A Woods Cross man pulled out of his burning house Monday night by firefighters has died from his injuries.

Eric Bardall, 62, was taken to a local hospital in critical condition but later passed away, said South Davis Metro Fire Chief Jeff Bassett. His cause of death was still being investigated Tuesday. Bardall was the lone occupant of the home.

Investigators were back at the house, 1375 S. 1100 West in Woods Cross, on Tuesday sorting through the rubble to try to determine what sparked the fire.

In addition, the fire department and city officials were trying to determine why a fire hydrant in front of Bardall's house was turned off. Bassett said while he does not believe the inoperable hydrant changed the outcome of Monday's tragedy, it did slow down firefighters who were forced to connect hoses to a hydrant 400 feet down the road.

Just before 9 p.m. Monday, a car was driving by the house when a child in the vehicle said he thought the house was on fire, Bassett said. The driver turned around and went to the neighbor's house to call 911 after confirming the house was indeed on fire.

The first arriving crews reported "flames venting out the front window, with heavy smoke to the floor," the chief said.

Inside, Bassett said the house was heavily cluttered with personal items stacked all around the house. The dense amount of property made it hard to search the house and provided extra fuel for the fire.

"Due to the amount of personal property in the home, it made for a heavy fire load and was difficult to extinguish. There were numerous smaller propane tanks in the house which vented and added to the rapid fire growth," Bassett said.

Bardall was found near the front room of the split entry home.

The fire was believed to have started in the front room area. Bassett said investigators were trying to determine how long it may have been burning before it was reported.

He noted that the road in front of the house has been under construction and a new water line was being installed. But why the hydrant in front of the burning home was still turned off was unknown.

Woods Cross officials said they would investigate the hydrant, Bassett said. The hydrant was turned back on shortly after the fire was extinguished.

Bardall's house also had no working utilities, he said. Neighbors told investigators that Bardall had been struggling and some knew that he had been without utilities for an unknown amount of time, allegedly for not paying his bills.

Bassett said the issues of the hydrant being turned off and the house not having water or electricity are separate.

The home, estimated to be worth $225,000, is considered a total loss, according to the fire department.

According to court records, Bardall was charged in Woods Cross Justice Court last month for not responding to the city's requests to take care of property issues such as weeds in the yard and maintaining his sidewalk/park strip.

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