Tag Archives: arson

Retail

Scottsdale, AZ – Man sets fire to his own business; Sprinkler system helps extinguish blaze and protect neighboring businesses

A 75-year-old Scottsdale man was arrested Sunday after a fire investigation determined he set his own business on fire earlier this month, according to police. James Richard Waller is being charged with arson of an occupied structure and criminal damage for his involvement in the April 14 fire near Pima and Pinnacle Peak roads. The fire was quickly put out by fire personnel and the building’s sprinkler system. Police say in addition to the fire and related damage to High Desert Rugs and Furnishings, several other nearby businesses and vehicles had been vandalized with spray paint.

All of the damage appeared to be related and investigators quickly deemed the fire was suspicious. During the investigation, evidence indicated Waller, the owner of High Desert Rugs and Home Furnishings, was responsible for both the spray paint and starting the fire inside his own business.

“Obviously, there was something wrong, and it makes you feel bad that it had to be that way,” said Denise Barrett, owner of a nearby business called Sonny and Chair. She said Waller had always seemed like a friendly person.

“I think he’s come in once or twice to get food to go,” said Tristen Haasch, a server at Raven Gastropub, which is also nearby. “Unfortunately, we were affected by graffiti; it covered our menu sides in the front, and our wall, the entrances.” Waller was arrested and released pending felony charges through the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office. The investigation remains ongoing.

Apartment Building, Residential

Port Angeles, WA – Sprinkler system activated for arson fire in apartment building

A Port Angeles woman who allegedly set fire to the Serenity House of Clallam County apartment she lived in has been charged with first-degree arson.

A Port Angeles woman who allegedly set fire to the Serenity House of Clallam County apartment she lived in has been charged with first-degree arson.

Port Angeles police said Kovacevic used a lighter to set fire to a mattress in her living room last Friday morning.

A Port Angeles woman who allegedly set fire to the Serenity House of Clallam County apartment she lived in has been charged with first-degree arson.

Witnesses told police that Kovacevic had been acting erratically in the week leading up to the fire, according to the affidavit for probable cause.

Police said that Kovacevic suffered a traumatic brain injury in the past and that her symptoms had escalated since she stopped taking her medication, court papers said.

The Port Angeles Fire Department arrived at the fire at 9:10 a.m. and declared it under control at 9:28 a.m. Friday. An automatic sprinkler system in the building had activated.

Kovacevic was found in a family member’s home at about noon Friday, police said.

Kovacevic allegedly admitted to starting the fire, officer Erik Smith wrote in his arrest report.

“She confirmed she did this in the living room that morning with a black lighter,” Smith wrote.

“Before leaving the area, she saw someone checking on her apartment. She remarked that when she looked at (her unit), the smoke was grey and what she observed was ‘like a cute postcard, almost.”

Kovacevic remained in the Clallam County jail on $50,000 bond Thursday.

Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols had requested a $250,000 bail for Kovacevic at her initial court appearance Monday based on community safety concerns.

A review hearing is set for April 12.

College/University (on campus), School / University

Vancouver, BC, Canada – Arson fire in college classroom building is put out with help from sprinkler system

After fires prompted an evacuation at Langara College yesterday, Vancouver police have arrested and charged an individual. Prior to noon on April 1, first responders received reports of a suspicious fire at Langara College’s West 49th Avenue campus, according to the Vancouver Police Department (VPD). A suspect had allegedly entered the college with improvised incendiary devices. At least two of the devices were detonated, causing fires to start, before the suspect fled. According to Cst. Jason Doucette at a VPD news conference held today (April 2), several other devices were left behind. Cst. Doucette said that the VPD’s bomb disposal unit neutralized a third device.

Cst. Doucette stated that sprinkler systems at the building did activate and the Vancouver Fire Department helped to put out the fires. Initially, all classes in the T Building (Science and Technology Building) were cancelled but around 1 p.m., the college evacuated everyone from the campus and also closed its 601 West Broadway campus. Based on information provided by the school and witnesses, the VPD identified the suspect as Nasradin Abdusamad Ali of Surrey, who is a 23-year-old student of Langara College, and alerted other local police agencies. Just after 4 p.m. on April 1, Metro Vancouver Transit Police arrested Ali in Surrey and turned him over to the VPD. Today, the VPD announced that Ali remains in custody and has been charged with one count of arson related to inhabited property and one count of possession of incendiary material. Although Langara College announced at 10:20 p.m. on April 1 that the VPD completed their sweep of the campus, the college’s West 49th Avenue campus remained closed today while the 601 West Broadway campus was reopened.

Other - Residential, Residential

Port Angeles, WA – Sprinkler system kept arson fire under control in multi-family home

Port Angeles police officers have arrested a woman for investigation of felony arson in the fourplex fire at Serenity House of Clallam County’s Evergreen Family Village that left three families homeless.

The blaze was reported at 9:10 a.m. Friday and was declared under control at 9:28 a.m. No one was home at the time and no one was injured, according to authorities.

Denise K. Kovacevic, 40, was in custody at the Clallam County jail with no bail set Saturday. Her first appearance in Superior Court is set for 1 p.m. Monday.

Officers were seeking Kovacevic after she was seen leaving the apartment building at 2203 W. 18th St., just prior to the blaze, said Cpl. Sky Sexton.

Also, Sexton said, the location where the fire started — in the living room of one of the units — “isn’t generally where an accidental fire would be set.”

She was found at a family member’s home at about noon Friday, according to the initial police report, Sexton said.

During an interview with a detective, “she admitted setting the fire, but gave off a lot of indications of mental health issues,” which officers hope will be explored during the process, Sexton said.

Capt. Terry Reid of the Port Angeles Fire Department said Friday that the extent of damage was unknown.

Reid said a sprinkler system activated immediately after the fire started.

“It was really under control by the time we got there,” he said.

Reid said an administrator at Serenity House was coordinating efforts to rehouse the three families who were displaced by the fire.

The administrator was not available for comment Friday.

Apartment Building, Residential

Greeley, CO – Arson fire at apartment 70-unit complex extinguished by sprinkler system

A woman is in jail after police say she set fire Tuesday evening to an apartment after an argument with her husband. Mindilynn Zekan, 39, was arrested on suspicion of first-degree arson after a fire at the Meeker Commons Apartments, 505 9th Ave., according to a news release from the Greeley Police Department. An engine, ladder truck and battalion chief responded to the fire about 10:45 p.m. Tuesday.

By the time crews arrived, no one was inside the apartment and the sprinkler system had extinguished the fire, according to a Greeley Fire Department release. After shutting down the water flow to the activated sprinkler, crews ventilated the apartment to remove smoke and residents were allowed back into the building that night. The complex has more than 70 apartments and more than 100 residents.

Zekan was present at the scene and interviewed about the incident. Greeley Police say Zekan was upset about an argument with her husband and began setting his property on fire. Zekan was taken to the Weld County Jail on suspicion of first-degree arson. She remained in custody Wednesday morning pending an appearance in court. The dollar amount of fire and water damage has not been established.

Hotel / Motel, Residential

Binghamton, NY – Early morning arson fire at boarding house extinguished by sprinkler system

The Binghamton Police Department says a man has been charged with intentionally setting a fire on Henry Street. Police say the fire at 106 Henry Street, the “DIXIE 2000” rooming house, was reported at 6:16 a.m. Monday. According to detectives, an investigation found that the first-floor office was broken into before being doused with a liquid accelerant and ignited, which caused an explosion and significant damage. Officials say the fire was extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system and all residents got out safely. Police say the suspect, who had left before officers arrived, was later identified as 59-year-old Jerry Hopkins of neighboring 104 Henry Street.

He was charged with second-degree arson, a class B felony. The incident was investigated by the Binghamton Police Patrol and Detective Divisions as well as the Fire Marshal’s Office. State Fire K-9 also assisted at the scene. Anyone with additional information is asked to call detectives at (607) 772-7080.

ORIGINAL STORY:

BINGHAMTON (WBNG) — Police and fire officials were called to a fire on Henry Street in Binghamton Monday morning.

According to Binghamton Fire Marshal Alan Gardiner, the sprinkler system inside 106 Henry Street put out the fire.

Gardiner said investigators haven’t determined a cause for the fire, but he called it suspicious.

Members of the Binghamton Fire Department, Binghamton Police Department and New York State fire officials responded to the scene.

Residential, Single Family Home

Henderson, NV – Fire set by barricaded person extinguished by home fire sprinkler system

A person with a weapon was barricaded inside a home Thursday night, according to Henderson Police. Henderson police say the suspect was taken into custody without incident at about 8:45 p.m. and that no injuries were reported at the scene. According to officers, Henderson police got a call at approximately 5:35 p.m. about a fire alarm on the 3000 block of Paladi Ave. near Bicentennial and Anthem parkways.

While the house was initially on fire, an in-house sprinkler system extinguished the fire by the time police arrived, police said. When officers arrived, police began treating the incident as a domestic disturbance. Police said an individual then barricaded themselves in a home with a weapon. SWAT was at the scene

Other / Not Specified

San Mateo, CA – Sprinkler system helps keep arson fire from spreading inside building

San Mateo police are asking for help identifying two people seen in an alley where burning garbage cans threatened a building early Thursday morning. Police and firefighters were sent at 3:23 a.m. to the first block of Second Avenue, near South El Camino Real, and determined that a group of garbage cans were burning next to a building. Officer Michael Haobsh said the building sustained damage when the fire melted a window a bit and set off the building’s sprinkler system. The fires were deemed suspicious and an arson investigation was begun. Police said some businesses are providing surveillance video of the area and anyone else who has video they can provide is asked to get in touch with police right away.

Apartment Building, Residential

Lyons, NY – Sprinkler system activated for mattress fire in apartment building

A New York woman was arrested Sunday after she tried to kill a bed bug and set off her apartment building’s sprinkler system.

Wayne County Sheriff’s deputies said Jacquline Lynch, 39, was in her apartment Sunday morning when she tried to kill a bed bug using a lighter. Lynch allegedly put a lighter on a mattress to kill a bug after her uncle had sprayed areas of the apartment with alcohol.

The mattress caught fire, setting off the sprinkler system and damaging the inside of her apartment, as well as several others in the building.

Lynch was arrested and charged with fourth-degree arson. She was issued an appearance ticket and released.

Department Store, Retail

Lumberton, NC – Suspicious fire at department store contained by sprinkler system; Fire crews finish extinguishing blaze

Police in Lumberton are investigating a fire at a department store they say has been deemed suspicious. The fire broke out at the Rose’s department store on East 24th Street around 9:55 a.m. Monday. Lumberton police and Lumberton fire were called the scene. The sprinkler system activated one head, and the fire department was able to extinguish the remaining fire.

Lumberton police Capt. Terry Parker says the fire is being investigated as suspicious. No injuries were reported. Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Charles Keenum at 910-671-3845.