A Gold Canyon home was severely damaged by a fire that broke out on Tuesday, with Superstition Fire and Medical District crews responding around 6:32 p.m. and moving to a defensive strategy as flames spread to the second story, prompting a first-alarm response due to the intensity of the blaze. The home’s hillside location, nearby brush, and reports of exploding ammunition complicated firefighting efforts, and a roof and partial wall collapsed shortly after crews were pulled back, with no firefighters injured.
Fire suppression continued until midnight, followed by a fire watch through 7:00 a.m., and while the homeowner and their dog escaped, the homeowner suffered smoke inhalation and minor injuries but declined hospitalization. A neighbor identified as Diana said, "We were on our deck and I saw it just blow up, and I thought, ‘I hope it’s not going to touch our builder's home that he’s just building now,’ and it just got worse and worse," while firefighter Sophie Boukatch said, "That is probably the biggest fire that I’ve been on in my career," as reported by FOX 10 Phoenix.
Fire crews from Mesa and Queen Creek helped contain a house fire, stopping it from spreading to nearby homes and vegetation. Access to the property was limited because it was located on a dead-end road. Boukatch told AZFamily, “The front of the house was only part that had a road, and it was a dead end so were kind of limited in vehicles we could get up there. So we did a lot of water shifting and extra hand lines to surround house because we weren’t able to get trucks back there.” The cause of the fire remains under investigation by SFMD. Phoenix Fire Captain Todd Keller said, “Fire doubles every 30 seconds, so if you have smoke detectors, you have about two minutes before that fire has quadrupled.”
