House fire ruins deck, leaves visitors unhurt
A Jackson Hole firefighter works at about 8 a.m. Friday at a house blaze on Willow Street between Kelly and Karns avenues. Firefighters put the blaze out before it could damage more than the deck on the roof of the structure.View our entire photo gallery >>
By Emma Breysse, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
August 25, 2012
Six men are safe after a late-night party turned into a Friday morning fire at a house on Willow Street.
The fire started before 8 a.m. on the deck, where the visiting group had a fire in a built-in outdoor fireplace the night before, Fire Marshal Kathy Clay said.
The “most probable” cause of the house fire is that wind picked up embers from the fireplace and scattered them across the wooden rooftop deck, Clay said.
“They had done everything right with the fire,” she said. “It was legal, because it was completely enclosed with a chimney cap and a screen in front. Of course, it was an open fire when we got there.”
The six residents didn’t realize the deck was on fire until a neighbor noticed the flames and pounded on the door. The knocking woke the men, who got out safely with their possessions.
It took about 100 gallons of water to drown the flames, which were high enough to be seen from the street, Clay said. The fire did not reach the nearby roof of the building or the wooden frame of the chimney. Damage was limited to the deck, Clay said.
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