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EAGLE MOUNTAIN — A man was arrested after setting his house on fire Friday, police said.
Neighbors in the City Center area of Eagle Mountain saw the house burning around 11 p.m. and called dispatch, according to Utah County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Spencer Cannon. Unified Fire Authority firefighters responded to extinguish the fire which caused an estimated $100,000 in damage, Cannon said.
South Jordan police officers arrested a resident of the home, 34-year-old George Everton Maile, Saturday at 10 a.m. Cannon said police believe Maile set the home on fire using an accelerant. Maile told police he was suicidal, but Cannon said he didn’t believe Maile set the house fire in an effort to hurt himself, because Maile left the area after the fire started.
Problems in Maile's marriage may have prompted him to start the fire, Cannon said.
"He was not happy with life, I guess," Cannon said.
Unified Fire Battalion Chief Brian Anderton called the blaze the equivalent of a two-alarm fire with multiple agencies responding to assist. The house is currently uninhabitable but is not a total loss, Anderton said.
Smoke, fire and water damage occurred throughout the home, Anderton said. Unified Fire K-9s indicated accelerants may have been used to ignite the blaze.
"Our K-9s are trained to detect different types of accelerants that may be used, and it sounds like our K-9s hit on several locations where it sounds like accelerants may have been used," Anderton said.
Maile was booked into the Utah County Jail on suspicion of aggravated arson. His bail was set at $10,000 cash only.
Court records indicate a protective order was filed against Maile in February. He has prior convictions for misdemeanor assault in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
