Article - June 6, 2008 - Deseret News

Park City chiropractor attempts to blow up building

By Pat Reavy

An emergency dental appointment in the middle of the night may have saved an entire office building, and several adjacent buildings, from being blown up and destroyed in a heavy fire.

"We would have just had a catastrophe over there, no question about it," said Park City police Capt. Rick Ryan.

Even more bizarre is the man police arrested in connection with the attempted bombing is a chiropractor who had a respected practice in the same building, 1901 Prospector Ave.

Matthew Zarit, 36, was arrested Monday evening at his home in Holladay and booked into the Summit County Jail for investigation of attempted arson and possession of incendiary device. State prosecutors were also looking Friday at a possible insurance fraud charge and the ATF was considering possible federal charges.

Investigators say Zarit was going to blow up his office and all the others in his building to collect the insurance money, said Ryan.

Zarit used lessons he learned from taking chemistry classes and information he picked up off the Internet to mix gasoline with Sodium Hydroxide, Ryan said.

"What that does with Sodium Hydroxide is when the fire starts and you put water on it, it increases the heat of that fire," said. "It has its own oxygen source. It's real difficult to extinguish that fire."

Zarit's plan was reportedly to blow up the building early on the morning of June 2, police said. What he wasn't expecting, however, was a dentist going into the office that morning to meet a patient for an emergency procedure, Ryan said.

The dentist got into the office at about 12:30 a.m. When he finished about 1 a.m. and went back into the hallway, he saw five gallons of gasoline in different containers, fuses, road flares and a timer, Ryan said. The dentist immediately called 911.

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