At 1:30 a.m. Saturday, a passerby noticed a fire in a trash Dumpster at Quince Orchard High School and called 911, said Pete Piringer, a spokesman for the county Department of Fire and Rescue Services.
An hour later, firefighters were called to the scene of a blaze at a warehouse in the 12300 block of Darnestown Road, not far from the high school, that caused $12,000 damage.
At 3 a.m., firefighters were called to yet another fire, this time at a house under construction on Welcome Lane in the Mountain View Estates subdivision, located off Darnestown Road. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, which had been reported by neighbors. The home sustained about $1,000 in damage, Piringer said.
Fire investigators believe all of Saturday's fires were intentionally set, he said.
The fires began again in the early hours of Monday morning, when firefighters were called to a trash fire on Turkey Foot Road near Dodie Drive at around 12 a.m. Then, at 1:30 a.m., firefighters were called to a 20-foot by 40-foot trailer on fire behind 11400 Spice Oak Terrace near Travilah Road.
The trailer, which had been used as an office, was engulfed in flames and sustained $100,000 in damage, $25,000 of which was to contents and office equipment, Piringer said.
Monday's fires remain under investigation, Piringer said.
The fires are strikingly similar to two fires set April 14, which fire investigators later found to be arson. The incidents, which were also set in early-morning hours, included a bush, grass and tree fire on Norman Drive followed 20 minutes later by a blaze that caused $500,000 worth of damage to a house on nearby Viewside Drive.
That home was adjacent to the Welcome Lane home set on fire Saturday, Piringer said. Both incidents also had some vandalism at the property where the fire was set.
The April 14 incident also included a Dumpster fire, and were set with trash and other materials found laying around the property, Piringer said.
Although fire investigators received some information from residents after the April 14 blaze and have some theories, they are again turning to the community for help. Investigators are interviewing residents and asking any that with information, no matter how trivial it may seem, to come forward, Piringer said.
Residents have questioned whether the fires may be linked to recent blazes set in Prince George's and Fairfax counties, but fire investigators do not believe that to be the case, Piringer said.
Anyone with any information on the fires should call the county's arson tip line at 240-777-2263 or Montgomery County Crime Solvers at 1-800-673-2777.
