April 24--MERIDIAN -- YORK, Ala. -- The Alabama State Fire Marshal's Office has ruled arson as the cause of two separate fires last week in the small city of York, located about 25 miles northeast of Meridian.
On April 15, firefighters from multiple agencies in Alabama and Mississippi responded to a fire in a strip mall located on 4th Avenue. The fire gutted two businesses located in the single story brick building located near the intersection of Broad Street.
The fire consumed the roof of the building that housed Nails & Toes and Jackson Hewitt Tax Service. A vacant retail space once occupied by Nu Look was also destroyed.
"We fought the fire for six or seven hours," city of York Director of Public Safety Brian Harris said Wednesday. "It was a tough fire for us to fight."
Harris was not aware that it had been determined that the fire had been intentionally set.
"I haven't seen the report yet," Harris said.
Alabama State Fire Marshal's Office spokesman Steve Holmes wrote in an email Wednesday in response to an information request by The Meridian Star that both the fire at the strip mall and an April 13 fire in the gym of the former Sumter County High School were the result of arson.
After speaking with investigators, Holmes wrote that "there was no mention of a connection between the two fires."
Built in 1923, Sumter County High School has sat vacant for years. "For sale" is spelled out on the school marquee. The fire, which broke out on a Sunday afternoon, was confined to one room in the gym and was quickly extinguished.
Bernard Turner, a mechanic in the Sumter County School System's Bus Shop, was using a gasoline tanker to refuel a school bus parked on the vacant school grounds Wednesday morning.
"I hope they catch whoever started those fires," Turner said. "It might be young kids doing it. You never know these days."
Harris, who serves as the city's police chief and was recently promoted to Public Safety director after receiving his State of Alabama Firefighter certification, said the loss of two businesses to fire is tough for the small city of about 2,500 residents.
"We will get with the Fire Marshal's Office and work with them to pursue leads," Harris said.
Holmes said the public's help is needed.
"The public is encouraged to participate by providing information which may be known about these two crimes or any other suspect arson," Holmes wrote in his email.
The Alabama State Fire Marshal's Office can be contacted through links on the agency's website at www.firemarshal.alabama.gov or by calling the Alabama Arson Hotline at 1-800-654-0775.
Copyright 2014 - The Meridian Star, Miss.
