Massive Orem house fire being investigated as arson

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

OREM — A fire that destroyed an empty Orem home in a wooded area of the city is now being investigated as arson. Orem Assistant Fire Chief Shaun Hirst said he had fire investigators on-site Friday, making contacts and asking questions. They said the circumstances around the fire are too suspicious to ignore, and who may have done it has a woman who lives next to the fire upset. The home that burned down is now just a pile of blacked remains, but new phone video shows on Tuesday, it was a blazing inferno. The fire came dangerously close to the house of Melissa Fukofuka, who lives next door. Learning the fire may have been set on purpose, she's angry. "Yes, livid, yeah, livid. Why would someone do that? Other than personal vengeance and thinking just in their own world," Fukofuka said.

New video of Orem house Fire - now being investigated as arson. Why a woman who lives next to it, is livid, on @KSL5TV at 10pm. #fire pic.twitter.com/9TCgVMnsDe — Brian Carlson (@briancarlsontv) February 8, 2025

Orem fire investigators are looking into the fire as arson for several suspicious factors. "One being the home was scheduled to be demolished, it was not occupied, and an individual approached the developer on scene, prior to the start of the fire," Hirst said. He's referring to a conversation the developer told KSL TV. Just before he left that night, someone approached the property and asked what was going to happen to the house. Thirty minutes later, he received a call that the home was in flames. Fukofuka said the house had been overrun for years by drug dealers, homeless, or property vandals, and believes any one of them could've been upset they were losing their favorite spot. "I can understand the anger, but I don't understand to the point of setting it on fire. It's a very selfish thing to do," Fukofuka said. She's grateful the fire didn't destroy her home too. "Incredibly blessed ... it could've been a lot worse. We could've lost the back of our house or the whole house," she said. Orem fire said they want to find whoever it was that talked to the developer just before the fire. If you know anything, they want to hear from you.