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Bluffdale • Police and firefighters rushed to the scene of a suspicious blaze Wednesday morning at the same house where homeowner said that on Tuesday he chased off a would-be burglar with a shovel.
Bluffdale police Cpl. Aaron Rosen said the fire was reported about 7:45 a.m. as "fully involved," even though damage was confined to the front of the home and was initially characterized as "moderate."
A dollar estimate on the damage was not immediately available. No injuries were reported. The homeowner was home at the time the fire broke out. He told police that a front window was blown out and seemed to be where the blaze started.
Rosen said an arson dog detected an accelerant at the fire scene.
Investigators were interviewing the homeowner late Wednesday morning. "He is cooperating with us, answering all questions, not holding anything back," Rosen said.
Bluffdale police have been on the lookout for the intruder since the homeowner reportedly struck him on the head with the shovel after the man broke into the home in the 13000 South block of Redwood Road about noon Tuesday.
The intruder, who ran away, is described as a white man, between 5-foot-8 and 5-foot-10, in his late teens or early 20s.
Anyone with information about the burglary or the fire is asked to call the Bluffdale Police Department at 801-851-4100.