Possible arson - Million dollar unoccupied home in Orem, UT burned to the ground December 26, 2023

[cocomod]

Photos: Vacant $3.9 million home with indoor waterslide destroyed in Orem fire

A vacant home in Utah County caught fire late Tuesday night, lighting up an Orem neighborhood and leaving residents wondering what was happening.

kutv.com

Photos: Vacant $3.9 million home with indoor waterslide destroyed in Orem fire​

OREM, Utah (KUTV) — A vacant home in Utah County caught fire late Tuesday night, lighting up an Orem neighborhood and leaving residents wondering what was happening.

KUTV 2News viewers were quick to send photos and videos of the blaze, with all visuals indicating the house would be a total loss.


Orem City Fire Department Assistant Chief Shaun Hirst said the fire broke out at a 27,000-square-foot home located at 497 E. 1450 North.

History behind Orem mansion destroyed in fire

A mansion in Orem that was uninhabited and under construction caught fire Tuesday night, sending flames and a plume of smoke high into the sky that could be seen from miles away.

www.fox13now.com

The home was listed for sale in November 2023 for $3.89 million. The two-story mansion sat on a 1.23-acre lot and had seven bedrooms and nine bathrooms.


The property has an interesting history.

Dr. Joseph Berg and his fiancee were found dead inside the home back in 2012. Their deaths were ruled as an accidental overdose, according to autopsy reports and a police investigation.

Federal agency that focuses on arson joins investigation into Orem mansion fire

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has joined the investigation into a massive fire at an unfinished mansion in Orem.

kutv.com

BATFE's involvement at the very least means authorities believe a federal crime could have been committed.

The bureau specifically investigates "federal offenses involving the unlawful use, manufacture, and possession of firearms and explosives; acts of arson and bombings; and illegal trafficking of alcohol and tobacco products," according to BATFE's site.

The fire, described as extremely hot and fast-moving by fire crews, has raised suspicions of possible arson by many, and the investigators utilized a K-9 trained to sniff for accelerants.

 

[cocomod]

Property records show the owner of Blendtec owned the home.

Property Dashboard - Utah County Land Records

 

[Betty P]

Sounds like a pretty wild neighborhood. The free-wheeling design and partial build of the house. A doctor and his friend die of an overdose there. A guy who is allegedly rich from selling very expensive plastic blenders. If ATF is involved, maybe the blenders were just a front for something else. Entrepreneurs, right?


Sure sounds like arson. JMO

 

[ch_13]

Sounds like a pretty wild neighborhood. The free-wheeling design and partial build of the house. A doctor and his friend die of an overdose there. A guy who is allegedly rich from selling very expensive plastic blenders. If ATF is involved, maybe the blenders were just a front for something else. Entrepreneurs, right?


Sure sounds like arson. JMO

Blendtec is a pretty well-known manufacturer. I doubt it's a front. The founder, Tom Dickson, is sort of semi-famous for doing a series of "Will it Blend" videos where he destroys various items in a blender like golf balls or an iPhone. They were a viral sensation several years ago.

ATF is probably involved because it's potentially arson, and they specialize in investigating explosions and arson attacks: Arson | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Interestingly, the below article says that the owner of the property was actually the son of the founder:

Orem mansion hard to sell, renovations lagged before fire

The multi-million dollar Orem property destroyed by fire the night after Christmas had been on the market three times in the last eight years, and besides an ap

kjzz.com

The owner of record is Dickson Properties LLC, and state records identified Kathryn Dickson as the registered agent. A co-agent for the latest property listing said Tom Dickson is an owner; he is believed to be the son of Blendtec founder Tom Dickson Sr.


Edit: Looks like the family sold a controlling interest in the blender company to a private equity firm a few years back.

 

[charminglane]

At first glance I thought this was the Kouri Richins mansion, where someone died years before she purchased it.
Then I saw this one had two people die there a while ago.
It does seem like arson.

 

[cocomod]

I am hoping the journalists out there do some digging. There is a family dynamic in play here where there may have been a lawsuit that was won recently and I believe that this was indeed arson. It is so strange that this house was started years ago and never finished. RUMOR has it that it was to be a "play" house, not one to live in for the Blendtec family.

 

[dbcooper63]

Just look for the hottest burn area you'll see where it started I don't think it's any question that it's arson whether they can pin it on anybody I guess they're going to have to do a little bit of research and investigation and interviewing whoever they can find related to the family friends work etc

 

[cocomod]

Massive Orem house fire was ‘intentionally started,’ investigators say

Authorities in northern Utah say the massive fire that destroyed an unoccupied multi-million dollar home in Orem last week was intentionally set.

www.abc4.com

Massive Orem house fire was ‘intentionally started,’ investigators say​

Lt. Jeremy Jamison, with Orem police, told reporters at the news conference that there is currently no suspect in the case. He stressed that the department is asking the public for help, adding that anyone with information is asked to call a dedicated line at 801-229-7579.

 

[cocomod]

Orem mansion fire 'intentionally started,' officials say

A fire that destroyed a large Orem home last month was intentionally set and officials are continuing to investigate the blaze at the multi-million dollar mansion.

www.fox13now.com

"The investigation is quite extensive," said Hirst. "We're talking about concluding the on-scene investigation, that's just a small part of what's been going on the last 10 days.

"There's still a lot of warrants out, a lot of interviews have taken place, a lot of data collection that is still going on."

 

[annpats]

It's not the nicest looking house.....it looks sort of like a weird wooden warehouse. Some of the rooms are a funny shape...some too big, some too small.

I'm sad it burned down though.

 

[Betty P]

It's not the nicest looking house.....it looks sort of like a weird wooden warehouse. Some of the rooms are a funny shape...some too big, some too small.

I'm sad it burned down though.

It looks like an unfinished hotel, JMO.

At least it was empty and no one was hurt.

 

[annpats]

It looks like an unfinished hotel, JMO.

At least it was empty and no one was hurt.

Yes, like a very odd half-finished country hotel. And quite dated too!

I can't believe it was worth nearly $4 million.

Sometimes the more houses are worth, the least I like them!

Yes, no-one was hurt, the place was empty, amen to that!

 

[cocomod]

I personally think they were asking too much money for it - without being finished, of course it wasn’t worth that much. Here is an article that touches on something I had heard, but couldn’t discuss. It was in litigation in recent years and the son won.

https://www.axios.com/local/salt-lake-city/2024/01/12/orem-mullet-house-fire-investigation

Details: The house was known locally as the "Mullet House" in honor of its "business in the front and party in the back" vibe. The Berkshire Hathaway listing dubs it "Chateau de Moulet."

 

[ch_13]

I personally think they were asking too much money for it - without being finished, of course it wasn’t worth that much. Here is an article that touches on something I had heard, but couldn’t discuss. It was in litigation in recent years and the son won.

https://www.axios.com/local/salt-lake-city/2024/01/12/orem-mullet-house-fire-investigation

Details: The house was known locally as the "Mullet House" in honor of its "business in the front and party in the back" vibe. The Berkshire Hathaway listing dubs it "Chateau de Moulet."

That house is wild. 27,000 sf on just over an acre of land.

So, it seems the son sued his own father for control of the house? And then it burned down shortly after the lawsuit was resolved? Wow.

 

[nhmemorymaker]

I personally think they were asking too much money for it - without being finished, of course it wasn’t worth that much. Here is an article that touches on something I had heard, but couldn’t discuss. It was in litigation in recent years and the son won.

https://www.axios.com/local/salt-lake-city/2024/01/12/orem-mullet-house-fire-investigation

Details: The house was known locally as the "Mullet House" in honor of its "business in the front and party in the back" vibe. The Berkshire Hathaway listing dubs it "Chateau de Moulet."

thanks for this! Sometimes threads are just fun to read.