Three meetinghouses of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout St. George caught fire early Tuesday in what fire officials are calling "very suspicious" circumstances.
About 4 a.m., crews were called on the report of smoke coming from a meetinghouse adjacent to the Latter-day Saint temple on 300 East in the 1200 South block, said St. George Fire Chief Robert Stoker.
That building sustained heavy damage indoors due to flames before crews extinguished them.
Shortly after, firefighters were called on the report of a brush fire at the meetinghouse on south River Road and Rustic Drive. At that building, blazes were burning in multiple areas on the landscaping.
Crews were then called to a third fire at a stake center on River Road at 1700 South. That building has a fire suppression system that activated and put out the fire, but the building sustained heavy water damage, Stoker said.
Both the meetinghouse near the temple and the 1700 South stake center will likely remain inoperable for a long time, Stoker said, due to heavy damage. He did not have an estimate on cost.
Crews from Washington, Hurricane and Ivins responded due to the suspicious nature of all three fires, Stoker said, as firefighters were concerned more fires might ignite at churches in the area.
He said the fires are not yet being labeled arson, but they're extremely suspicious. St. George police department is investigating, and representatives from the State Fire Marshal and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are on on their way to southern Utah to investigate. The crews will likely break into teams to investigate each of the meetinghouses, Stoker said.
"Any time we get any type of fire at a place of worship whether it's suspicious or not we would contact the state fire marshal and ATF just because we do not know where that investigation would lead, whether it's an accidental or suspicious fire," he added.
While St. George has experienced arson and other suspicious fires in the past, the city has never experienced three fires at places of worship at the same time.
Anyone who might have noticed something suspicious in the area of the fires is asked to call police or the fire department.
Stoker noted that often the details that residents think might be unimportant end up helping investigators find who is responsible. He urged residents in general to watch out for their neighborhoods and if they see something, to say something.
This story will be updated.
from Deseret News https://ift.tt/3ywMmZx
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario