From Deseret News archives:
Davis forms team to investigate fires
Davis County's fire departments are establishing a County Fire Investigation Team that will boast much greater resources to look into suspicious fires.
At a recent meeting, the Layton City Council approved a memorandum of understanding between 10 fire departments in Davis County to create the team.
Participating cities and agencies include Layton, Clinton, Farmington, Hill Air Force Base, Kaysville, Sunset, Syracuse, South Weber, the North Davis Fire District and the South Davis Metro Fire District.
"Fire investigation is a very specialized field," Layton Fire Chief Kevin Ward said.
Layton officials got the idea for such a partnership when the Salt Lake Metro Fire Department helped the city investigate a suspicious fire in a strip mall a few summers ago on Fort Lane.
The city also had a suspicious fire in the Camelot subdivision in recent years, where such a response team could have been a great asset to share resources with.
It has taken two years to establish this cooperative effort.
The group hopes to have some certified investigators who can assist any Davis County city or fire department with their own major investigation, as it may arise.
"This is a great idea and a great partnership," Layton Councilman Scott Freitag, who is also the Salt Lake Fire Department spokesman, said.
Freitag said that as crimes become more sophisticated in the future, such an effort will be needed even more.
Layton Councilwoman Kathy Hyde Smith said it is very impressive that 10 different groups can come together and create this investigation team.
Layton Mayor Steve Curtis agreed.
"I am very pleased that all these municipalities can come together," he said.
E-mail: lynn@desnews.com
