'Suspicious' fire destroys Layton home

LAYTON — The investigation at the scene is now complete, but the cause of a fire that ripped through a house here Monday night is still unknown.

When firefighters arrived at the house, 1088 E. Rosewood Lane, about 8:45 p.m., flames had fully engulfed the home, Layton fire Chief Kevin Ward said. High winds fueled the flames and threatened a neighboring home.

"We had to direct our efforts on preventing the fire from spreading to the house to the north," Ward said.

Four people inside the burning house escaped without injuries. One person said there was a loud pop before the fire, and another witness "thought he saw some juveniles in the area" before the fire, Ward said.

"It's a suspicious fire," he said.

Layton Fire Marshal Dean Hunt returned Tuesday to sift through the rubble. The investigation showed the fire started on the upper outside deck at the back of the house, he said. But a cause was still undetermined Tuesday.

"It'll be a few days before we come up with anything more," he said.

Investigators want to rule out any possible accidental causes of the fire before they try to rule out the suspicious causes. An accident with the family barbecue was one of the potential causes that has been ruled out.

There were also no reports of fireworks being lit in the area before the fire started.

A K9 was used to sniff for accelerants but came up with nothing, Hunt said.

There were witnesses who said they saw juveniles in the area. Another reported seeing one juvenile specifically who ran from the area as soon as the fire started and was crying, Hunt said.

It was for those reasons that investigators believed Tuesday the fire was suspicious. The next step in the investigation was re-interviewing witnesses, he said.

Damage to the house was estimated at $250,000.

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