March 11--Four February fires within one-fifth of a mile of each other are the work of one or more arsonists, investigators say.
While the two structures that sustained extensive damage were unoccupied at the time of those fires, the public could have been at risk. Now, fire investigators are offering a reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible for the arsons.
Bloomington fire investigators and police detectives continue to investigate three fires at a vacant building at 1600 S. Huntington Drive and a fourth arson at a home under construction at 936 E. Miller Drive.
"We know they're intentionally set. We don't have a motive at this point," Bloomington Fire Department investigator Scott Smith said in a phone interview. "But they're not coincidence at this point."
The first two fires at 1600 S. Huntington Drive, at the Midland Cut Stone site, happened within 15 hours of each other on Feb. 3 and Feb. 4. "One didn't rekindle after another," Smith said.
The building at this site was vacant, did not have power or working utilities and was scheduled for demolition, he said.
Just before midnight on Feb. 28, the same building sustained its third fire of the month. The fire caused part of the building's roof to collapse.
The night of Feb. 24, another suspicious fire destroyed a house under construction at 936 E. Miller Drive.
As with the Huntington Drive fires, the house at Miller Drive did not have electricity or utilities. No one had been at the construction site for two days before the fire, Smith said, and the house was left unsecured because it had no doors, windows or drywall.
"It was a significant fire when we arrived," Smith said. "It wasn't small; it was fully involved when we got there."
The blaze grew so large so fast, the fire caused heat damage to apartments near the construction site, including melted siding. "Really, there was a lot of risk there for people," Smith said.
Investigators have not released exact causes for the fires or named accelerants that may have been used to start the blazes.
Smith said he planned on peppering the neighborhood with signs, offering up to $5,000 in reward money for information leading to an arson arrest. The reward is provided by the International Association of Arson Investigators, Indiana Chapter #14, in cooperation with the Indiana State Fire Marshal and property insurance companies.
Anyone with information about the Huntington Drive and Miller Drive fires can call 1-800-382-4628 to provide anonymous tips. Or go to the association's website at www.iniaai.org.
Copyright 2014 - Herald-Times, Bloomington, Ind.
