Suspicious Fire Damages LDS Stake Center

Suspicious Fire Damages LDS Stake Center


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(KSL News) -- Firefighters battled a suspicious fire at an LDS Stake Center in West Jordan.

By the time firefighters arrived, smoke was pouring through the roof of the River Oaks Stake Center. All of the people had already escaped.

Brittany Hixon, Churchgoer: "I just saw a bunch of smoke, a ton of smoke coming down the hall. It was just moving really really fast. And that's when I went out."

Firefighters quickly snuffed the blaze and vented the toxic fumes.

Martin Hill, Stake President: "It was thick, you couldn't see even across the room. It was very acid. And we just got people out."

Suspicious Fire Damages LDS Stake Center

The fire was confined to a stage area in a gymnasium.

Jason Holden, Churchgoer: "From the stage to the ceiling, the curtains and everything across, everything was just engulfed, that whole area."

Marc McElreath, West Jordan Battalion Chief: "There's considerable damage to the gymnasium area, and the rest of the building sustained heavy smoke damage."

The fire broke out about 4:15 after religious meetings were over. Some witnesses reported seeing a person a couple of hours earlier they didn't recognize.

Katie Buttars, Churchgoer: "Just saw a guy with light hair and plaid shirt and jeans, and he was just looking through the sacrament meeting doors. Like just opening them."

Brittany Hixon, Churchgoer: "And he just looked really out of place. And he was just peeking into the meeting. And it was just really weird. "

Fire officials say numerous conflicting reports of unknown people and cars don't add up, so they don't know what to make of it. They've found no physical evidence yet for arson.

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