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Dad who rescued son from burning home named a Cedar Hills Champion September 25, 2016, 6:54 amCedar Hills city leaders recently recognized Spencer Kelley as a Cedar Hills Champion. Kelley received the honor in recognition of his bravery when, on July 15, he ran back into his burning home at 10683 N. Fiddle Sticks Drive to save his son Connor who was trapped in the fire. The sleeping family was awoken by the smoke alarm just after midnight and Kelley and his wife Shannon quickly evacuated the children. But once they made it outside, Kelley, 42, realized his son Connor, 12, was not with them. He ran back into the burning building and crawled to his son's second-floor bedroom where he found him standing confused. He shepherded his son out through the flames. Spencer Kelley sustained third-degree burns on his hands, feet, and knees but was released from University Hospital the following day. Connor had been released the previous day. It was later determined that the fire, which caused $150,000 in damages and left the home uninhabitable, was caused by a beanbag sitting on top of a plugged-in Xbox. After reading a resolution that commended Spencer Kelley for his "brave and selfish act" that "demonstrated extreme bravery despite life-threatening risk to self," Mayor Gary Gygi and city council members praised Kelley. "If there was ever a Cedar Hills Champion, it was Mr. Kelley and his family, "Gygi said. Council Member Ben Bailey, who is a fire marshal, said that he teaches to never run back inside a burning building, but "Mr Kelley did what every father and mother thinks they would do. The difference is he did it.... That is tremendous.… Sir, I salute you.… I can't imagine you running that gauntlet twice." When he spoke, Kelley turned the praise back onto the first responders, his neighbors and the residents of Cedar Hills. "I have a lot to be grateful for," he said. "There's a lot of folks put their lives on the line every single day.… I appreciate the firefighters, the EMTs, the city facilities that we have. "I've been absolutely impressed with the level of professionalism, the kindness, the caring, the above and beyond that the folks of this city have done," he said. "The kindness and generosity from people who are known and unknown has absolutely reset [things for me].… I don't think if I served for the rest of my life I could ever come back to an even level of the service that has been provided to our family in this disaster." The city council declared Aug. 17, 2016, as Spencer Kelley Day. The community news source for Eagle Mountain Utah, Saratoga Springs Utah, Lehi Utah, American Fork Utah, Highland Utah, Alpine Utah, and The Cedar Valley, including Cedar Fort Utah and Fairfield Utah. Copyright 2024 The Crossroads Journal LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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