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Gene Kennedy and Nicole Gonzales reporting A Holladay woman may face an arson charge for setting her duplex on fire.
The woman who lives at the duplex near 1300 East and 4200 South has not been arrested, so her name is not being released. Right now she's at St. Mark's Hospital on a 72-hour hold for a psychological evaluation.
Officials from Unified Fire Authority want to talk with the woman again when she's out of the hospital. They first had a chance to speak with her after Tuesday night's fire at the duplex. Investigators feel there is enough evidence to push for an aggravated arson charge. That could be filed next week.
Meanwhile, KSL spoke with a man who says he pulled the woman out of the burning duplex. Richard Rhead says she was on a couch clutching some photographs.
"She said, 'Somebody has set my house on fire.' She said, 'I came home and my house was on fire,' that's what she said. So I said, 'Let's get out of here.' She just wouldn't respond to me. She just kept crying and wouldn't even look at me. So I kept trying, and she wouldn't respond, so I just grabbed her and drug her up the stairs."
The woman was the only one inside the residence. Firefighters treated her for smoke inhalation, but they say other than that she was not injured.
However, they believe she set a bedroom on fire and the flames spread to two other rooms. Luckily the fire did not spread to the adjoining residence.
Damage from the fire is estimated at $100,000.
E-mail: gkennedy@ksl.com
E-mail: ngonzales @ksl.com
