Police: Fire that destroyed St. George LDS stake center not confirmed as arson

A St. George LDS Stake Center under construction burned early Saturday morning, Jan. 26, 2019. Photos: St. George East Stake via St. George Fire Department

ST. GEORGE, Utah, Jan. 29, 2019 (Gephardt Daily) — A blaze that severely damaged a St. George stake center under construction is still under investigation and has not been confirmed as arson, officials said Tuesday.

The fire call came to dispatch at about 1:18 a.m. Saturday, St. George Police spokeswoman Tiffany Atkin told reporters at a Saturday afternoon news conference.

Crews responded to the site, near 300 East and 400 South, and found the stake center — a house of worship built to serve multiple congregations of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — fully engulfed in flames.

The fire spread quickly through the roof and ceiling. For their own safety, firefighters were forced to take a defensive stance, and the roof eventually caved in.

A news release from St. George Police Department Tuesday said that evidence collected from the fire was sent for testing to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

“Those results may tell us if an accelerant was used and if so, what type,” the news release said. “We are waiting for those results which can take up to two weeks to receive.”

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, the news release said.

“We cannot confirm this is an arson, but rather we are conducting a criminal investigation to ensure all leads are covered,” the news release goes on.

“Arson by definition is the act of deliberately setting fire to property, while a criminal investigation can include searching, interviews, and various methods of investigation. We reiterate, this is not being classified as arson at this time.”

At the news conference Saturday afternoon, officials confirmed the investigation into the incident would be a criminal one.

“We do believe the fire was started at the exterior of the building. This (classifying the case as criminal) is based on some evidence we found where there’s no heat or electrical reason for that fire to start there. We are treating it as a criminal investigation now, until we find out anything different.”

Atkin said that K-9s trained to sniff accelerants had been on the scene, but she said she did not have a report of findings.

She also said police are hopeful that surveillance video can be found that might capture some of what happened between about midnight and when firefighters were alerted, she said.

Atkin was asked if burning the church building would constitute a “hate crime.”

“We’re not going to say it’s a hate crime at this point,” she responded. “The fact that it’s an LDS church — that’s why ATF was called in.”

The Tuesday news release said the ATF, St. George Fire Department, the Utah State Fire Marshal and the St. George Police Department “are all working together to complete this investigation. All information will be released by these agencies through St. George Police Department and St. George City.”

The news release added that anyone who was in the area of the fire on Jan. 26 and saw something suspicious is asked to call the St. George Police Investigation hotline on 435-627-4338.

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