Officials calling blaze at middle school arson

In his 24 years with the Salt Lake City Fire Department, Battalion Chief Brian Dale has never seen arson at a school.

He remembers seeing Dumpster fires a few times, but nothing like the two charred rooms at the nearly complete construction site for Hillside Intermediate Middle School, 2375 E. Garfield Ave.

Daylight allowed investigators Friday to examine the building, which is not yet equipped with power lines or fire sensors.

Fire officials said they are confident the major fire Thursday night, with damage estimated at $250,000, was arson.

Neighbors called the fire department shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday when they saw signs of a fire coming from the building.

Three engines and 17 firefighters arrived on scene and extinguished the flames quickly. One room was used as a temporary office for the general contractor and the other was an office for a subcontractor, said Salt Lake City Fire Department spokesman Scott Freitag.

"We know that somebody intended to light these fires, and they intended to light these two rooms on fire, but we don't know a motive," Freitag said.

City, state and federal agencies are conducting a joint investigation. Shortly before noon Friday, specially trained dogs were brought in to sniff the building for incendiary material that may have been used to start the fire.

"This is a big deal. It's a big deal because it's a school and because it happened in multiple locations, which is suspicious," Freitag said. "We're going to put everything we've got into this."

The fire caused only minor damage to the structure and was not expected to delay the move to the new building, slated for Oct. 20, Hillside principal Heidi Larsen said.

Administrators had planned to use the gym, which is already complete, when school resumes on Aug. 25. Students at Hillside have not had a gym in more than a year. But the fire damaged a hallway leading to it.

"You think about what $250,000 could do for kids," said Larsen, who learned about the cost of damage along with reporters. "What are we doing now with it? We're putting it toward some person who has nothing to do with education."

e-mail: mgonda@desnews.com