Millville Authorities Probe String of Suspicious Fires

MILLVILLE, N.J. -- A string of recent fires have been labeled suspicious by officials who are investigating if they are the work of an arsonist.

"We are looking into whether there are any links," police Lt. Ed Zadroga said Wednesday.

Three fires damaged three uninhabited structures during the past 10 days, officials said. Zadroga would not say what, if anything, the buildings had in common.

The first two fires occurred July 22, south of the main part of the city and about a mile apart. One damaged a former used car lot at South Second and Orange streets. At around the same time, Zadroga said, a fire was reported in the 300 block of Peek Avenue.

The car lot on Wednesday was a ruin, with sunlight shining through where the roof once was. Weeds grew about thigh-high on the nearby lot. Tax records indicated it was worth $132,000 and owned by Joseph Hamilton III. He could not be reached.

Kathleen Langsdorf, who lives in the 300 block of Peek Avenue, described the house that burned as old, dilapidated and near the Maurice River. It is at the end of a long dirt driveway, but a gate was closed and a no-trespassing sign was posted Wednesday.

Langsdorf said neighbors saw three unfamiliar men walking one at a time, toward the river, during the day before the fire and reported them to police. She noticed they were not carrying fishing rods.

"We're a pretty quiet street," she said. "We know most of the people in the area."

She said there had been some local crime, including an attempted theft of her riding lawn mower last year, which she prevented by removing the battery.

Tax records indicated it was owned by Alvin Burgess and Carolyn Kwasnicki, of Commercial Township and was assessed at $182,700. Kwasnicki declined comment.

The third fire happened July 27, Zadroga said, in the 100 block of Middle Avenue.

That fire damaged the exterior of a house under construction. On Wednesday, a visible black burn mark marred the grey exterior of the multifamily building, where it faces Cedar Street.

Millville Fire Chief Kurt Hess said it is the second fire in less than a year at that site.

Hess said the earlier fire, on Jan. 6, 2011, was electrical and damaged the house beyond repair. It was demolished. He said investigators concluded the earlier blaze was accidental, but labeled the more recent fire "suspicious." He did not think there was a connection between them.

Tax records indicated it was assessed at $16,600 and owned by Sunny Dayz Investments, an LLC based in a Millville post office box.

Millville police asked that anyone with information about the fires call Detective Jeremy Miller at 856-825-7010, extension 7261.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service