Last Laugh

[Reedus]

For the Record
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated:10/26/2006 12:40:52 AM MDT


Body fat causes funeral home fire

A fire broke out at a Salt Lake City funeral home Tuesday afternoon as workers were cremating the remains of a man who weighed more than 600 pounds. In the process, some of the body fat had liquefied and leaked out, causing a fire similar to a grease fire, said Scott Freitag, spokesman for the city fire department. An employee at Gardner Funeral Home, 1001 E. 11th Ave., put the blaze out with fire extinguisher before firefighters arrived, he said. Fire crews assisted with smoke removal. There was no damage to the funeral home, Freitag said.