Tag Archives: arson
St. Paul, MN – Sprinkler system halts arson fire at St. Catherine University; No injuries reported
The incident began when someone alerted St. Kate’s Public Safety to a fire in a basement bathroom in Derham Hall, an administrative building, which was followed by additional reports of fires, according to the university statement.
After a third fire was reported, “a pattern was noted, arson was suspected and university officials along with the St. Paul Police and Fire Departments were immediately alerted,” the statement said.
Officers responded to the campus at 11:40 a.m., along with firefighters, on a report of suspicious fires, according to police.
In addition to Derham Hall, the fires were found and quickly contained in Our Lady of Victory Chapel; Fontbonne and Mendel halls, which are classroom buildings; Butler Center, the fitness facility; St. Mary Hall, a dorm; and Coeur de Catherine, the student center, according to Sara Berhow, St. Kate’s spokeswoman. Two of the fires were set in Coeur de Catherine.
Campus public safety officers worked with the police and fire departments to review security footage and identified a suspect entering various buildings. At about 1:30 p.m., the suspect was found in a lounge in Crandall Hall, a dorm.
The woman, identified in a police report as Tnuza Jamal Hassan, was removed from campus at 2:35 p.m. and police arrested her on suspicion of first-degree arson.
Hassan, of Minneapolis, was a St. Kate’s student during the fall semester, but was not enrolled for January term or the spring semester, according to Berhow.
“While this was an unfortunate and stressful event, I am thankful we are all safe and for the wonderful and fast response of our Public Safety team along with the local police and fire departments,” said St. Kate’s President Becky Roloff. “Their thorough and quick actions helped ensure we were kept informed and the situation was resolved as quickly as possible.”
St. Kate’s is in session for students taking four-week January-term classes. The university notified their community on Wednesday about the incident via email, their emergency alert system and social media, with messages going out every 15 minutes until police gave the all-clear, Berhow said.
Puyallup, WA – Sprinkler system protects high school after banner set on fire
Water from the sprinkler system was the primary concern, Levings said.
School will go on as scheduled, Fox said.
The extent of the damage from the fire and the water used to extinguish it is unknown.
Vineland, NJ – Sprinkler system limits spread of school arson fire; No injuries reported
Bremerton, WA – Overnight arson fire at apartment building extinguished by sprinkler system
“We identified a person that didn’t belong in the building didn’t know who he was so he’s a person of interest we want to find this guy and chat with him.”
Bremerton Police shared the man’s photo on social media, and even said they believed they knew who he was.
Fire investigators wouldn’t identify him by name but said the surveillance cameras at the apartment complex helped them start the arson investigation.
Resident Andrew Feliciano said that both he and his dog Roosevelt escaped when the fire broke out. They live adjacent to the unit where the fire happened. He was surprised that authorities said a man who didn’t live there managed to get in, “this place is like Fort Knox, it’s very secure. I’m not sure how that guy got in.”
Fire investigators said nobody was hurt in the fire, and it didn’t spread to any other buildings, in fact there never appeared to be a danger of that happening. They said roughly a dozen residents may have been displaced by the fire.
Anyone with information is asked to call detectives at 360-473-5228.
Anchorage, AK – Suspicious fire at elementary school contained with help from sprinkler system
Her classroom window had been broken. “A flare got put in my room and it caught fire,” she said.
“The District will continue the clean up until school resumes,” Esary said.
Insurance will likely cover the cost of replacing the damaged electronics, she said.
A neighbor witnessed the vandalism and it was caught on camera, said Rob Holland, the District’s director of operations.
“At least one person is visible on the video. We can’t determine who that is. The police may or may not be able to,” he said.
A cleaning crew, four of them custodians, were summoned from their beds early Sunday and showed up within an hour of the fire, he said. Everyone is focused on minimizing the disruption for the children.
“The staff that deployed at 1 and 2 in the morning were heroic people,” he said. “We aren’t going to be held down by acts of violence. We’re going to turn this around and make it seamless.”
Myrtle Beach, SC – Arson fire at hotel contained to room of origin by sprinkler system
Colorado Springs, CO – Hotel sprinkler system activates in response to dumpster fire started outside
A man was arrested Sunday for allegedly setting several dumpsters on fire and vandalizing cars in downtown Colorado Springs.
Police responded about 7 p.m. to a call about a man starting dumpster fires and damaging cars. One fire was so big that it triggered the sprinkler system at a local hotel. Witnesses followed the suspect, later identified as Steven Roche, 51, to East Bijou and North Tejon streets.
Police say Roche became difficult when they tried to contact him. Police said Roche apparently used a rock to damage several cars.
He was arrested on suspicion of felony criminal mischief as well as resisting arrest and two counts of fourth-degree arson, all misdemeanors.
Santa Maria, CA – Sprinkler system halts blaze after man sets fire to police department Christmas tree
The Santa Maria Police Department provided the following narrative on what happened next:
When Officers did not respond as quickly as Minami wanted, he grabbed a Department decorated Christmas tree and placed it on top of some chairs. Minami then lit the tree on fire, which caused the building’s fire protection sprinkler system to activate.
The emergency sprinkler system performed properly and quickly extinguished the fire; however, a large amount of smoke filled the front of the building. Minami was immediately located in front of the Department and arrested.
A part of the police department’s interior walls and flooring received water and smoke damage.
Minami was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on charges of felony arson, vandalism, and public intoxication. His bail was set at $250,000.
Cedar Park, TX – Arson fire at Walmart suppressed by automatic sprinkler system
Last year, a man lit a fireworks display on fire inside a Walmart in Phoenix. No one was hurt, but the store sustained several million dollars worth of water and fire damage. Police arrested a suspect a few months later and charged him with arson.