Student’s dream goes up in flames
A house belonging to Travis and Shalae Larsen burned causing an estimated $300,000 worth of damage on March 8 on 24th Street in Ogden.
Shalae, a senior at Utah State University majoring in landscape architecture, said the Ogden City police believe the fire was arson, but are unsure of who started it.
Shalae said it was the most tragic thing which had ever happened to her.
“It’s like losing a dream,” she said.
On the global scale, though, Shalae said she realizes it was not that bad because no one was hurt and they had not moved in yet so they did not lose any of their possessions.
Initially, Shalae said, they thought it was started outside the home on a corner of the house which is not visible from the road, but she said the Crime Scene Investigators (CSIs) who came one week after the fire believe it was started from the inside of the home.
A previous small fire was started five years ago by a transient, Shalae said, and the CSIs believe this may have also been started the same way. Shalae said police found a half-full beer can in the basement of the house.
The first newspaper reports reported the house was destroyed, and Larsen said she initially felt the same way.
“For the first two days we thought it was a total loss. We were devastated. But the reconstruction contractor was very positive and enthusiastic about bringing it back,” Shalae said. “When we walked inside we realized it was not as bad as it looks from the outside. It’s still structurally intact.”
Shalae said the home was built in 1890 and was a historically significant structure.
“It was a landmark in Ogden,” she said. “And this area is what the Avenues were 10 or 15 years ago. There are a lot of houses in the neighborhood with great potential.”
The two bought the house planning to restore it, Larsen said, and closed on Feb. 28, only one week and one day before the fire.
Shalae said she and her husband had worked with the Utah Heritage Foundation (UHF) who provides loans to restore historic buildings. She said the loan took almost two months to be approved because the UHF required architectural drawings, engineering reports, analyses, budgets and a timeline.
Shalae said they were one week away from submitting the final construction documents.
“I was just so excited before the fire. Shalae dealt with all the political aspects of it, and I was excited to be able to do some work, get my hands dirty and actually start doing things,” Travis said.
He said he spends every day he can at the house doing anything he can to start cleaning up, even if it is just raking leaves.
“I felt I needed to do something,” Travis said.
Shalae said they bought the house because they have an interest in historic buildings.
“We’ve always loved historic architecture. It’s so unique. They don’t build houses like that anymore. And the second we walked in, we knew this was our dream house,” she said.
Shalae said she enjoys the character of the home as well as the location near downtown Ogden and the community around it.
“Community is more than just a certain layout. It’s the people. And in spite of all of what’s happened, I still feel really good about the neighborhood. People should buy more of these old houses, even in Logan,” Shalae said.