Aug. 27--ANYONE with information about the weekend fires is asked to call the Morgantown Arson Hotline, at 304-225-3586.
Additional charges have been filed against a pair of WVU students who were witnessed setting a Dumpster fire early Sunday morning, according to Morgantown Fire Marshal Capt. Ken Tennant.
Casey James Deskins, 18, of Hico, and Chase Belcher, 18, of Anstead, both Fayette County towns, were initially charged with malicious burning for what was described as a "large" fire near the intersection of Pennsylvania Avenue and Pietro Street.
On Monday, a charge of failure to comply with orders was filed against both men.
According to a fire department press release, a Dumpster "over -- loaded" with numerous mattresses, couches, box springs, cardboard and trash was reported burning at 3:14 a.m. Sunday. The release goes on to say that Deskins and Belcher were seen setting the blaze by a fire marshal unit.
Tennant said the department is also investigating a handful of additional weekend fires including: A burning Dumpster at 300 McLane Ave., a burning couch at 505 Grant Ave., and burning garbage toters at 609 and 703 Grant Ave.
"We do have leads in at least one of those fires," Tennant said. "We have also received some information through the arson hotline and we'll continue to investigate that."
Tennant said the fires were "unfortunate." He went on to say that the fire department works closely with WVU, and the WVU Police and Morgantown Police departments to educate students as well as the public about the dangers and penalties for setting fires.
"The bottom line is, if you're going to participate in this kind of activity, there's a chance you're going to get caught. We have people on duty looking for these kinds of events and there's also a lot of surveillance video that we can look at," Tennant said.
Morgantown changed its malicious burning law in February, closing a loophole in the language and stiffening the penalty from a $1,000 maximum fine to a fine of $1,000 minimum to $2,000 maximum.
Even so, Tennant said, the criminal aspect of burning cases was "limited" and that "the biggest deterrent comes from the sanctions" imposed by WVU.
Melanie Cook, in WVU's office of student conduct, said the university's response to fire-related charges will be "serious and swift," explaining that discipline in such cases can include expulsion.
She also said the fire department "fully participates" in the process, which, for Deskins and Belcher, will likely get under way this week.
"They'll probably meet with us by Wednesday at the latest and we'll set a hearing within a week, depending on their schedules," Cook said.
Copyright 2013 - The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va.
