3 killed, 1 airlifted after fire engulfs West Jordan home, investigation treated as a crime scene

WEST JORDAN, Utah (ABC4) — Three people have died and one person was airlifted to the hospital in critical condition after a West Jordan home was engulfed in flames on Friday morning, July 18.

Sgt. Andrew Hercules said emergency responders from multiple agencies, including West Jordan Fire and Police, South Jordan Fire, and Unified Fire Authority, responded to the fire just before 10:30 a.m. at a home located near 8200 South and 6400 West. When they arrived, they found the home to be engulfed in flames.

(Images courtesy Bayan Wang and Brandon Toale)

An investigation is currently ongoing, but Hercules said that three people were found dead inside the home as a result of the fire. A fourth individual was found to be in critical condition outside the home and was airlifted to the University of Utah hospital.

It is currently unclear the ages or identities of the victims; However, West Jordan Deputy Fire Chief Chris Trevino described the fourth individual to ABC4.com as a “small patient,” but could not confirm they were a child.

Hercules said the cause of the fire is unknown and is part of the active investigation. While the fire is being treated as a “crime scene,” Hercules said that will be the case until evidence suggests otherwise. At this time, there are no suspects or persons of interest.

In the immediate aftermath, Brandon Toale, a resident of the neighborhood, said he saw flames coming out of the multi-story home and firefighters attacking the flames from the outside.

“It was heartbreaking. I’m going to be honest, it was terrible to see that you needed life-flight,” said Toale. “You never want to see that helicopter because we all know that means someone is in grave danger.”

But he said the immediate feeling the fire brought among him and other bystanders was a sense of community.

“Mostly the conversations were ‘Do we know what happened?’ and ‘How can we help?'” Toale said. “I think that’s one of the best things about this community.”

ABC4.com received video that shows a 20-year-old witness get out of his vehicle and run toward the home engulfed in flames to help what appears to be a child in the backyard trying to get out.

Morgan Grant, another neighbor, also jumped into action when he saw the person on the lawn.

“I looked up and saw an obvious burn victim on the lawn,” he said in an interview with ABC4.com. “Really terrible. I’ve seen other things before in the military, but I think that might’ve been a child, so that was crushing, because I have two young daughters.”

Friday evening, friends and family of the victims set up chairs outside the home, and neighbors came to provide food and water to everyone sticking around to show their support.

“I heard the boom, and I just hear people screaming and sirens,” one neighbor, Mandi Bastian told ABC4.com. She’s lived in the neighborhood for over a decade and has never seen anything like this before.

“I was just standing around feeling really helpless, because fires take so fast, and there’s nothing any of us can do but stand there, and we’re all really sad and scared.”

Anyone who may have additional information relevant to the fire is encouraged to call the West Jordan Police Department through its non-emergency number by calling 801-840-4000.