The house that caught fire Friday morning is pictured in West Valley City, Utah on Dec. 9, 2022. (Adam Small/KSL NewsRadio)
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — West Valley officials have confirmed that an 80-year-old woman and several cats were killed in a house fire Friday morning. Neighbors were left mourning the woman’s death.
Emergency crews responded to the fire at 3427 South 3690 West at just after 1 a.m. Nick L.* lives 4 houses down.
“[I was] just watching TV and heard a bunch of commotion. Came outside and the whole street was filled with cop cars and fire trucks, an ambulance. Just a bunch of smoke billowing out of the house,” Nick said.
A few minutes later he says he saw emergency responders bring the 80-year-old woman outside and attempt CPR unsuccessfully.
“After a few minutes I watched them carry someone out, do CPR in the front yard for like 10 minutes and then they covered her in the white sheet.”
Unfortunately, the West Valley City Fire Department said multiple cats also died in the fire.
Nick said he didn’t know the woman, but he knew she cared for many stray cats in the area.
Right now, authorities think this was an electrical fire.
Authorities said there was no one else home. The fire caused an estimated $75,000 in structural damages.
*Nick L. declined to use his full name for this story.