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HERRIMAN -- Neighbors and investigators believe a fire at a vacant home in Herriman Monday night may be arson.
The fire started around 11 p.m. at a home near 14200 South and 5700 West. The house is for sale and is supposed to be empty.
Neighbor Steve Merrill says he was sitting in his kitchen with his wife when they heard smoke detectors going off at the house next door. He says he went outside to get the number for the realtor and saw smoke and flames in the home.
Merrill ran inside his own house to tell his wife to call 911. When he returned he saw another neighbor kicking in the door to make sure no one was inside the burning home. Merrill then broke through the garage door to do the same thing.
"I saw a carpet on top of the stove and flames going. In my opinion it was arson," he said.
Once firefighters arrived, it only took a few minutes to put the fire out. However, there is extensive smoke damage thoughout the house.
Firefighters are calling the fire suspicious since the home is unoccupied. It is owned by a financial institution.
Investigators say there have been reports of illegal activity at the house and they will look into whether that may have been going on when the fire started.
Investigators quickly searched the area when they arrived but have no suspects at this time.
E-mail: spark@ksl.com
