Arson suspected in fire at Tooele behavioral health facility

Photo: Tooele City Police Department

TOOELE, Utah, Aug. 18, 2022 (Gephardt Daily) — Investigators believe a fire at a Tooele mental health facility may have been started with a rock thrown through a window.

Fire crews responded to the blaze after witnesses described smoke coming from the building and fire alarms heard going off inside late Tuesday night at Tooele Valley Behavioral Health, 100 S. 1000 West.

“When officers arrived, smoke was observed coming out of a broken window on the northwest side of the building,” says a Tooele City Police Department Facebook post.

“The fire department was able to extinguish the flames. Through the course of the investigation, it appears that someone threw a large rock through the window of an office belonging to the operations manager of Valley Behavioral Health.

“It is believed the suspect broke the window and set the fire in the office intentionally. The Utah State Fire Marshals’ Office responded to the scene to conduct the fire investigation.”

Tooele police detectives are attempting to obtain video surveillance from surrounding businesses and homes for a case still in the early stages of investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Curtis by calling Tooele County Dispatch at 435-882-5600 #1.

Valley Behavioral Health is a private, non-profit agency with offices in Utah as well as Idaho and Arizona, providing behavioral therapy across a broad spectrum including anxiety and depression, PTSD, substance abuse, bipolar disorder as well as LGBTQ support.

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