Tag Archives: arson

Montreal, QC, Canada – Sprinklers help protect warehouse from suspicious fire

The arson squad is investigating what is being described as a suspicious fire in Montreal’s Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough.

The fire started inside a storage warehouse business located on Pontgravé Street, near Laurentien Boulevard at around 12:30 a.m. on Sunday.

Police said the fire triggered an alarm which alerted firefighters and activated the sprinkler system.

The blaze was quickly put out and damage to the building was limited.

Montreal police spokesperson Manuel Couture said the fire started just inside the front door of the business.

When firefighters arrived at the scene, they noticed that the glass door was shattered, raising the possibility the blaze was intentionally set.

 

Kansas City, MO – Sprinkler system extinguishes church arson fire set by racist vandal

Someone broke into a predominantly black church in south Kansas City early Sunday morning, starting a small fire and leaving the front doors and windows defaced with racist graffiti, according to law enforcement officials.  Members of Concord Fortress of Hope Church arrived in the morning to see the spray-painted graffiti, which included an ethnic slur directed at black people, the letters “KKK” and what appeared to be an attempt at making a swastika.

Inside the church, police found that someone had entered the building, broke into a vending machine and the church’s financial office, and lit a chair on fire.  The fire caused minimal damage before being extinguished by the building’s sprinkler system, according to John Ham, a spokesman for the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The ATF, which has jurisdiction over fires at houses of worship, is investigating the fire along with the Kansas City Police Department’s bomb and arson unit and investigators with the Kansas City Fire Department.  Kansas City Councilman Quinton Lucas tweeted out two photos of the graffiti, writing “Fools think they’re gonna keep us from worshiping this morning.

Lucas also tweeted out a photo of the services saying, “Racist Vandals and arsonists not slowing down 8 a.m. service @concordhope church.”

Kansas City police were called to the church shortly before 7 a.m. Federal investigators think the break-in occurred between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. and that whoever committed the break-in also made the graffiti.

If the investigation shows that the vandalism of the church was a hate crime, the FBI will get involved, said Ham, the ATF spokesman. But, he said, the hate crime designation depends on the motive and the true motive behind the damage to the church is unclear.

The fire was very small and did not appear likely to cause much damage, Ham said. Investigators suspect the incident began as a break-in, and the fire could have been meant to cover that up.

“To our fire investigators that are on the scene, it looks to us like a fire that somebody started sort of with what they had available to cover up perhaps the break-in,” Ham said. “It did not really have much to work with from a fire perspective. The sprinkler system in the office where it was set did its job, knocked the fire out very, very quickly.”

More damage was caused by water from the sprinkler system.

Fires at places of worship happen less frequently than they used to, Ham said, but have historically posed a potent threat because churches are often the focal point of a community.

“An attack on a church or an attack on a congregation is really an attack on everyone,” Ham said.

Investigators have not identified any suspects and are hoping to find surveillance video that could help. However, it’s unclear if all the security cameras in the church were working properly at the time of the break-in.

The ATF is offering a $5,000 reward for information about the incident. Anyone with information can call the ATF at 1-888-283-3473.

Concord Fortress of Hope Church is at 11050 Longview Parkway.

“It’s kind of a remote area, so if you were driving by early this morning or late last night and you saw something happening here, it probably wasn’t supposed to be,” Ham said. “Every little piece of information helps us.”

In a phone interview later, Councilman Lucas said he saw the graffiti as he arrived to attend services Sunday.

“It’s heartbreaking. It’s a little disappointing to see something liked that in 2017. Folks should be able to come and worship without that sort of concern,” Lucas said. “We’ll keep praying and stay hopeful that this is the last time we have to see something like this with this church and that nobody else has to deal with it.”

Lucas said Pastor Ronald Lindsay said it well during the service when he told church members that they were not letting something negative define them.

“It ended up being an absolutely beautiful service,” Lucas said. “It reminded us how God exists in chaos and how we will basically continue on with the mission of the church.”

The church was founded in February 1987 when the Palestine Missionary Baptist Church of Jesus Christ voted for Concord Missionary Baptist Church of Jesus Christ to become an official organized church. The Rev. Ronald R. Lindsay was installed as the pastor, according to the church’s website.

After beginning at the YMCA at 63rd Street and Wornall Road, the church moved south to 107th Street in the Ruskin/Hickman Mills area. In 2006, the growing congregation moved to its current location.

Charlotte, NC – Arson fire in university residence hall limited by sprinkler system

A UNCC student has been arrested for starting a fire inside a residence hall on Wednesday afternoon.  UNCC Police say Kaci Stackhouse, 19, was arrested Friday and charged with first degree arson. She was transported to the Mecklenburg County Jail.  The fire was started in a suite in the Oak Residence Hall and caused only minor damage, thanks to the buildings sprinkler system, according to UNCC officials.

Abingdon, VA – Arson fire at townhome extinguished by sprinkler system

An Abingdon woman was arrested Monday morning for allegedly setting her daughter’s house on fire in September, according to the state fire marshal’s office.Just after 4 p.m. Sept. 15, Anna M. Stewart, 50, called 911 after reportedly discovering a fire on the second floor of her daughter’s house in the 200 block of Ferring Court in Abingdon, according to a notice of investigation from the fire marshal’s office.

Stewart, who lives in the basement of the house owned by her daughter and her husband, Ashley and Rafael Roman, was the only one home at the time of the fire, Deputy State Fire Marshal Oliver Alkire said Monday.

Firefighters from Abingdon and Joppa-Magnolia volunteer fire companies and surrounding departments arrived at the two-story, middle of the group townhouse and discovered a fire within a bedroom closet that was nearly extinguished after the homes’ fire sprinkler system activated.

Deputy State Fire Marshals were requested to conduct an investigation and determined the fire was intentionally set.

Investigators later discovered a second, self-extinguished fire within another closet within the home, according to the notice.

Investigators estimated the home sustained about $20,000 in damages.

After consulting with the Harford County States Attorney’s Office, deputy state fire marshals issued an arrest warrant for Stewart, who turned herself in Monday to the Bel Air Barrack of the Maryland State Police.

Stewart is charged with first- and second-degree arson, first- and second-degree malicious burning and vandalism more than $1,000.

Stewart is being held at Harford County Detention Center on $50,000 bail.

South Bend, IN – Sprinkler system activates to help control arson fire at work release detention center

Two men who were inmates at the DuComb Center have been charged with arson for allegedly setting a fire at the center in August.  South Bend Fire responded to a fire at the DuComb Center on W. Lathrop Street on August 17.  Firefighters located the fire in the ceiling of a bathroom at the facility.

The building’s sprinkler system was activated and firefighters reported heavy smoke in the building.  The fire was extinguished by firefighters.  An investigation into the cause of the fire determined someone lit a piece of cloth and placed it above the ceiling tiles.

The damage was estimated at over $100,000.  Surveillance video showed between 11:09 p.m. and 11:35 p.m., inmates Austin Lamberson and Theodore Carney went into the bathroom, stayed for a short time, then walked out, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Investigators said Lamberson was carrying a white cloth when he walked into the bathroom, but was not carrying it when he walked out.  The video also allegedly showed Lamberson carry a blanket into the bathroom, returns saying, “It’s still going, I don’t need to put that up there,” according to the probable cause affidavit.

A short time later, Lamberson returned to the bathroom with the blanket and left without the blanket, according to the probable cause affidavit.  A short time later, an employee discovers the fire in the ceiling.  Lamberson and Carney are each charged with one count of arson.

Willingboro, NJ – Arson fire at butcher shop contained by sprinkler system

A surveillance video of a pair who sprayed what appeared to be an accelerant and lit a match to start a fire in a store was posted on social media Tuesday by police.  This video shows an alleged arson at The Meat Stop in Country Club Plaza in the 300 block of Beverly Rancocas Road on Aug. 26. The incident occurred after the front door window of the store was smashed and the two entered at 5 a.m., lit the fire and quickly left, Lt. Christopher Vetter said.

A store sprinkler system contained the fire and which was largely out by the time firefighters arrived, police said. The store, and some adjacent businesses sustained “significant” damage, Vetter said. The Meat Shop has not yet reopened.  Anyone with information is asked to contact Willingboro police at 609-877-3001 or the Citizen Tip Hotline at 609-877-6958.

Juneau, AK – Sprinkler knocks down arson fire in hospital waiting room bathroom

For the second straight day, in much a similar way, a bathroom was burned by an arsonist in Juneau.

Shortly after 3 a.m. Wednesday morning, the Juneau fire department was brought to Bartlett Regional Hospital by a 911 caller reporting fire and an explosion.

“Someone had set something on fire in the bathroom in the waiting room lobby adjacent to the emergency room,” said Capital City Fire/Rescue Assistant Fire Chief Ed Quinto.

The fire came less than 24 hours after an as-yet-unidentified arsonist set a fire in a Thunder Mountain High School bathroom.

Katie Bausler, a spokeswoman for the hospital, said a man identified as Arlo Bradstreet set a small fire in a bathroom trash can. The fire melted the trash can and was sufficiently hot to trigger the bathroom’s sprinkler system.

According to court records online, Bradstreet has been charged with second-degree arson, a class B felony. He is scheduled to be arraigned on those charges at 1:15 p.m. today at Dimond Courthouse.

Two patients and 15 staff were working in the hospital’s emergency department at the time: All were exposed to smoke, but none sought medical attention, Bausler said.

Quinto said a triage nurse in the emergency department reported hearing a loud boom and feeling the room shake as the fire took place. It is yet not clear what, if anything, exploded during the fire.

Bausler said the noise and shaking may have been caused by the sheer force of the sprinkler system starting.

“The sprinklers really did their job,” Bausler said, adding that an inch of water covered the floor of the emergency department’s waiting room before cleanup began.

When the Empire visited the hospital Wednesday morning, there was little sign of damage and more sign — literally — of cleanup. “Wet floor” signs were scattered around the waiting room near floor fans attempting to dry the scene.

Juneau, AK – Arson fire in high school bathroom extinguished by sprinkler system

The Juneau Police Department is seeking an arsonist after a small fire halted classes at Thunder Mountain High School on Tuesday morning. “The fire marshal and JPD are investigating the fire as arson,” said Assistant Fire Chief Ed Quinto on Monday afternoon.  Fire Marshal Dan Jager confirmed that JPD’s school resource officers are investigating who might have set a toilet paper dispenser on fire in a boys’ bathroom.  It might be only a toilet paper dispenser, but “it’s kind of a significant thing,” Jager said.

The fire was hot enough to trigger the school’s sprinkler system, which enthusiastically extinguished the flames and overwhelmed the bathroom’s floor drains. Building-wide fire alarms went off, triggering the evacuation. “It sounds like the sprinklers did their job very effectively,” said Juneau School District Chief of Staff Kristen Bartlett.  The sprinklers quenched the fire but also flooded a nearby hallway and sent water into a few classrooms. Quinto estimates the water and fire damage at $2,500.

The fire started shortly before 10 a.m., and staff and students returned to the high school by 10:30, Bartlett said. The fire took place in the purple wing — the section of the school extending toward the football stadium — and classes scheduled for that wing were expected to resume in the afternoon.

“The custodians and the Thunder Mountain faculty and staff and the maintenance department were excellent at getting things cleaned up,” Bartlett said.  Parents of students at Thunder Mountain High School and nearby Riverbend Elementary School received two calls from the school district: The first call alerted them to the fire; the second told them the fire had been extinguished.

Bartlett said she cannot recall any similar arsons at Juneau high schools. Quinto said he remembers a fire in the girls’ bathroom in the same wing a few years ago. According to Empire records, a small fire scorched Thunder Mountain’s turf field in 2011. A more serious arson burned the turf at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Park in 2012.

 

Quinto added that while Thunder Mountain has cameras covering its entrances and common areas, there are no cameras in the hallway outside the bathroom.

Gilroy, CA – Sprinkler system helps protect Salvation Army store from fire set by thieves

A 2-alarm fire at a Salvation Army facility in Gilroy destroyed $5,000 worth of donations.

Monday’s 2 a.m. blaze is being investigated as suspicious by the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office and Gilroy Police Department.

Flames spread through a trailer filled with donations.

Workers at the Salvation Army said the trailer has been broken into several times before at night, and the thieves use candles to light their way through darkness.

Workers suspect a thief’s candle sparked the fire.

The Gilroy Fire Department wrote on Facebook, “Crews responded to the Salvation Army store on Camino Arroyo, where they found a 53 (foot) trailer on fire up against the loading dock. The fire extended into the building but was held in check by the sprinkler system.”

Newark, NJ – Fires set by arsonists dressed as ninjas doused by apartment building’s sprinkler system

Police say two people dressed as ninjas broke into a New Jersey apartment building and set several fires.

Newark police officials say the unidentified man and woman broke in through a second-floor apartment. WNBC-TV reports that there is video showing the two exiting through a side entrance and running off down a hill.

Resident Melissa Ditonto says the alarm loudly alerted everyone to the fire and many people evacuated.

Police say the building’s sprinkler system quickly doused the flames. No one was injured.