OGDEN, Utah, April 21, 2017 (Gephardt Daily) — Ogden Police have arrested a man on suspicion of starting the blaze that destroyed an empty commercial building at 3350 Wall Ave. on April 13.
According to a news release from OPD, Reginald Frierson, 48, was booked into the Weber County Jail today. Frierson faces a charge of aggravated arson. His bail is set at $21,000.
Ogden fire crews were dispatched to the structure fire at R.J. Wrigley’s at about 8 p.m. and arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the building. The fire was discovered in the structure’s basement.
No one was in the building, and firefighters had to gain entry in order to attack the fire.
After extinguishing the fire, crews found additional fire in the ceiling of the structure, forcing them to go into “defensive strategy.”
The Ogden Fire Department reported that 18 firefighters from Ogden and South Ogden Fire departments responded to the scene, along with two ladder trucks, three engines, an ambulance, a paramedic unit, the battalion chief and a fire investigator.
Fire crews were on scene overnight, making sure there were no hot spots and performing cleanup.
Due to the suspicious nature of the fire, officials believed that it was human-caused. Investigators from the Ogden Fire Department along with detectives from the Ogden Police Department Major Crimes Bureau began following up on leads.
Police did not state any motive for the fire, and no further information is being released at this time.
