Two juveniles accused of setting a church on fire, causing extensive damage, were arrested late Tuesday thanks to the help of two conscientious neighbors.

Investigators believe a 16-year-old female and 17-year-old male used a baseball bat to break through the glass doors of an LDS church at 1078 McClelland Street (1040 East), and then vandalized some of the building's interior before pouring a flammable liquid down a hallway and igniting it, said Salt Lake City Assistant Fire Chief Dennis McKone.

Before the teenagers entered the church, they also spray-painted graffiti on the outside of the building, McKone said.

As the two were leaving the church, two men who live adjacent to the church happened to be out walking their dog, saw what was happening and apprehended them, holding them until police arrived. The men declined to comment Wednesday.

The fire went to two alarms and caused an estimated $500,000 damage. McKone said that if not for some quick action by firefighters to contain the flames, the entire building could have been lost.

Salt Lake City fire investigators met with representatives from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms on Wednesday afternoon to talk about the fire, the possible motive for setting it and whether it was simply mischievous juveniles or a hate crime.

"It's not a hate crime," McKone said.

Investigators did not know why the juveniles started the fire but believed there was enough evidence to rule out a hate crime.

McKone also said investigators did not believe the teenagers could be connected to any other recent incidents of church vandalism.

On Tuesday, Salt Lake County sheriff's deputies took reports of an LDS church near 3000 South and 2800 East that had been sprayed with graffiti in the parking lot and had a Molotov cocktail thrown at a shed on the property. The Molotov cocktail left a black mark but not significant damage.

A second church belonging to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, in the Millcreek area, has also been vandalized with graffiti in recent months, as well as an LDS church in Salt Lake City.

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