SPRINGDALE (KFSM) — Two firefighters were injured and a house was destroyed in an intense fire along Beaver Lake on Sunday.
Video from a 5NEWS viewer shows the house fully engulfed on the edge of a cliff in the Nob Hill region of Beaver Lake.
According to Nob Hill Fire Chief Gary Hull, the fire happened on Beartrap Road and was originally called in at 4:27 p.m. as a brush fire about a mile from the actual site by passers-by who saw smoke. Upon arrival at the location, firefighters realized the fire was from a structure and was about a mile away.
Firefighters arrived on scene within 2 1/2 minutes, Hull said. The home was about 60 percent involved upon arrival, but within minutes was fully engulfed.
Hull said they battled the flames about 3 hours using 22,000 gallons of water. Goshen and Round Mountain fire departments assisted.
No one was home at the time of the fire, Hull said. Two firefighters were injured slightly due to heat exhaustion, but they're OK today, he said.
Hull said the cause of the fire is still under investigation, and they aren't certain why it went up so fast, but building materials used today may be a factor.
Hull said many materials in homes built today, from laminate flooring to materials used in walls, include plastic, which burns hotter and faster than traditional wood.
"The older homes, you had maybe 20 to 30 minutes before it burned," Hull said. "Today, you have maybe 2-3 minutes before it's engulfed."