Sept. 27--Two storage trailers about 30 feet apart were destroyed early Wednesday in a blaze that the Watertown Fire Department said was intentionally set, possibly to cover up a burglary.
The trailers, belonging to Habitat For Humanity, were at 1202 Superior St., where Habitat is in the early stages of building a house for a family, Fire Chief Dale C. Herman said.
City fire and police investigators are investigating, since it appeared unlikely that flames from one of the steel, aluminum and wood trailers could simply have spread to the other. Two separate points of ignition are suspected.
One trailer was used for storage of tools, and the second was stocked with clothing, food and cooking supplies, according to the fire department. Each trailer had two doors secured by padlocks, and one door on each was forced open before the arrival of fire units, the fire chief said.
Some tools are known to be missing from one trailer, and an inventory was being attempted to determine what more may have been stolen, he said.
The blazes were discovered at 4:11 a.m., when an explosion was heard, Mr. Herman said. Two tires were flat, and they may have been the sources of the blast, he said.
There was no heat or electricity supplied to the two structures.
One trailer was 28 feet long, and the other about 20 feet, the chief said.
Firefighters were on the scene for about an hour.
Anyone who may have seen suspicious activity in the area is asked to call city police at 782-2233.
Copyright 2012 - Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
