Woman arrested in Ogden apartment fire police say was arson
May 1, 2018, 10:34 PM | Updated: May 2, 2018, 12:40 am
OGDEN, Utah — A woman was arrested Tuesday in connection with a fire that quickly spread through an apartment complex and left two people injured, police confirmed.
The woman, identified as 56-year-old Kristilynn Thompson, was booked into the Weber County Jail on suspicion of aggravated arson, as well as suspicion of use or possession of drug paraphernalia.
Kristilynn Thompson, 56, was booked into the Weber County Jail on suspicion of aggravated arson, as well as suspicion of use or possession of drug paraphernalia.
The fire broke out in a 3-story apartment building, at 2638 Adams Avenue, Tuesday afternoon and quickly forced the evacuation of 18 units.
Jeanette Zuffinetti, who rushed over to the complex to help her mother down the stairs, said the flames were “bursting out the window and the door” of an apartment just two doors down.
“It was like a scary movie!” Zuffinetti said.
Firefighters said six units were damaged and two people were transported to the hospital.
A jail booking document identified one of the injured as Thompson’s domestic partner, who was listed in critical condition.
The probable cause statement said when officers contacted Thompson, they spotted what appeared to be a meth pipe in her hand and took her into custody.
Thompson, according to the document, said her domestic partner had “presumably locked her out of the apartment.”
Witnesses, the probable cause statement said, observed Thompson kick in the window of the apartment before the fire started.
Thompson, police wrote, stated during a subsequent interview that she had “lit a blanket on fire through the window, which in turn ignited the sofa, and eventually engulfed the apartment.”
Zuffinetti’s mother, Susan Thomas, said the woman had been acting erratically prior to the fire.
“I heard her outside of my door scratching on it with something — it was a few times,” Thomas said. “She was yelling, screaming, she was going to mess people up.”
“She said a lot of messed-up things, like, ‘I’m going to kill you,’” Zuffinetti added. “She tried saying she was going to put out the fire with a Tampax.”
Thomas said she was going to have to stay at a motel until some of the services in her apartment building were restored.
“I don’t know what to say, but she needs to be locked up!” Thomas said.
