Tooele couple recounts hearing loud explosion, escaping flames
Originally Published: 29 JAN 26 17:00 ET
By Shelby Lofton
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TOOELE (KSL) -- A fire destroyed a Tooele couple's home and took the life of one of their pets Friday night.
It happened about 6 p.m.
"We were actually just getting ready to eat a roast," homeowner Brittany Johnson said. "Our fire alarms started to go off, which sometimes they randomly do that anyway, which is a little inconvenient, but, if we shower, hot water is running too long, they just kind of go off and do their own thing."
She said they didn't rush to get up because their smoke alarms have a history of being sensitive.
Johnson said she tried to fan the smoke alarm, but it didn't work. That's when they rounded up their cats and five dogs.
"We felt an insane explosion," Johnson said. "I lost my hearing for probably about two minutes. Everything was very muffled. I remember my husband screaming my name."
Smoke was coming from their swamp cooler.
They ran outside to safety with their pets.
Johnson said several fire trucks came to her house, and she remembers they spent 12 hours looking over every corner of her home.
"There was for sure a very large explosion," she said. "Personally, my guess is faulty wiring, but investigators from insurance should be coming out sometime this week."
Firefighters haven't shared the official cause.
They did find one of the Johnsons' pets inside, border collie-Aussie mix, Kenzie. Johnson said she died from smoke inhalation.
"I'm pretty sure she did come out when we were out, when we were trying to gather all of the animals out," Johnson said. "Unfortunately, she was kind of skittish, and she actually had, ironically, in that room that we saw the flames firsthand, she actually had a little closet area that she would go and hide."
The Johnsons said Brittany's clothing, furniture and so much more is destroyed. It could be nine to 12 months before they're back home.
"Just to see everything that you've built, the first quarter of our lives is just, it's gone," Johnson said.
They're intent on staying in Tooele, where they run Coffee Barn and where they have a community.
"There has been multiple businesses, even some of our competitors have come out and donated a proceeds of their sales to us," Johnson said. "We've never felt alone in this, not once."
The Johnsons' family members set up a GoFundMe* to help them with expenses.
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