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Latter-day Saint church building burns in Cottonwood Heights

Investigators say a fire at a Cottonwood Heights meetinghouse for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints likely was arson.

“In a church where they don’t have a lot of combustible materials, it started in middle of the night in the foyer area,” said Keith Garner, spokesman for Unified Fire Authority. “There are not other probable causes of ... a naturally occurring fire.”

The early-morning fire on Sunday caused serious damage to the church at 3625 E. Dover Hill Drive. Crews arrived about 2:45 a.m. to find flames and smoke engulfing the foyer area at the front of the building. The blaze was extinguished by 3:26 a.m.

“Quite a bunch of damage throughout, especially the hallways and the main areas through the walls and the ceilings. Anything that could burn did burn,” Garner previously told FOX 13.

Garner said it appeared the fire started in the foyer area, and that there was heavy smoke damage throughout the building.

See more at FOX 13.

This is a developing story.

Editor’s note: The Salt Lake Tribune and FOX 13 are content-sharing partners.

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