WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah, Feb. 26, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — Several vehicle fires and burglaries are being investigated in a West Valley neighborhood Sunday morning, as officials and homeowners work to find whoever is responsible for the senseless damage.
West Valley City Fire Battalion Chief Jed Peters told Gephardt Daily that crews were responding to a report of a vehicle fire, and “after our units went en route, we had reports of several other vehicles on fire.”
“We ended up with three different fire scenes within blocks of each other. Each one was on fire in the driveway of each home,” Peters said. And those weren’t the only vehicles.
“Going through the neighborhood, it looked like there were a couple others that looked like they were on fire but had burned themselves out before we got there,” he added.
Peters said investigators are on each of the fire scenes, as well as throughout the neighborhood, tracking down evidence.
West Valley City Police Department is assisting in the investigation.
“We don’t believe any type of accelerant was used,” Peters said, “but we’re not sure exactly how each one was started.”
Three cars are a total loss, and at least two others have minor damage.
Resident Aaron Eel, who woke up to the car fire outside his home, said, “I woke up to a loud pop, like a gunshot … and saw light, like a fire, so I looked out my window and saw the car was on fire.”
He said he told his girlfriend they needed to get up and out right away.
“So we went out, and by the time we got out, the car was already engulfed, and there was an officer and the fire department was already here. So I am assuming they were called before — like, how’d they get here so fast? — and I saw they were up the street, too.”
Eel said he doesn’t think the series of car fires is necessarily mysterious.
“I think, considering the four cars and, I guess, according to the officer, five cars that were burglarized, too, I’m thinking it was like a bunch of teens that were having fun Saturday night, Sunday morning.
“So I’ve got a surveillance camera, and I’ll check through it and see what I can find. I talked to the first people (whose vehicle was on fire), and they said their car started around 6:15 and I woke up about 6:30, 6:35 to that.”
WVCPD Lt. Amy Maurer said police have located several homes that have surveillance cameras, so they will be checking those and, depending on the quality of the videos, hope to see something that will help find the person or people responsible for the fires.
Maurer said police received an initial call about a car fire, followed by several other reports, so police and fire personnel flooded the area and, in doing so, found a couple more cars that were on fire.
“While (the fire department) was conducting their  investigation, we went around the surrounding area and discovered vehicles that had their doors open,” Maurer said, “so we ended up investigating a couple of vehicle burglaries.”
She said that right now it doesn’t appear that anything is missing from the vehicles, but the doors were opened and someone went through the vehicles. Police have been processing prints and collecting evidence.
Anyone who has any information about these fires, or who sees anything suspicious, is asked to call West Valley PD at 801-840-4000.
