The Unified Fire Authority responded to its fourth working structure fire in roughly 36 hours early Tuesday, July 14, when a garage blaze broke out near 3365 E. Birch Circle in Millcreek, according to the agency, which also protects Holladay and Cottonwood Heights.

A resident awoke to the smell of smoke around 3:30 a.m., opened the garage door, and found heavy flames and smoke inside, UFA Battalion Chief Jon Wilde said. The homeowner called 911 from a balcony and escaped safely.

Crews arrived to find the garage heavily involved and launched an aggressive attack that kept fire from spreading to neighboring homes. Salt Lake City Fire and South Salt Lake Fire provided mutual aid. One firefighter was treated at the scene for minor heat exhaustion but did not require hospital transport.

"We're calling for more resources right off the bat if we do get a working fire… just because of that heat," Wilde said.

The cause of the Birch Circle fire remains under investigation. Crews stayed on scene Tuesday morning to extinguish hotspots.

A punishing 36 hours

The string of blazes began Sunday evening, July 13, when a two-alarm fire heavily damaged one unit of a Millcreek duplex around 8:45 p.m. That blaze displaced four residents and injured two firefighters and one civilian, all with minor injuries, according to UFA Assistant Chief Dustin Dern. About 60 firefighters responded after a second alarm was called.

Dern noted that crews dispatched to the Sunday night duplex fire had already spent much of the day battling the Tanner Park brush fire in record-high temperatures.

Two additional structure fires occurred Monday, though UFA has not released details on those incidents. Investigators have found no common factor linking the four fires, Wilde said.

After the Monday fires, a shift change brought in fresh personnel. The fourth fire broke out just hours later early Tuesday.

Why it matters here

UFA is Utah's largest fire agency, serving more than 375,000 residents including those in Cottonwood Heights and Holladay. Because crews respond across jurisdictional lines, a heavy call volume in Millcreek can draw resources away from neighboring cities.

The agency said it is now pre-calling additional resources at the start of any new working fire given the summer heat. Wilde said the adjusted protocol will remain in place as long as extreme temperatures persist.