Police are investigating whether or not a Wednesday morning fire could be related to a dozen other arson fires in the Accokeek area.
Officials say a model home under construction burned to the ground early Wednesday morning in Accokeek. Firefighters said they were called to the St. James development just before 4:30 a.m., but when they arrived, the home was just a pile of rubble.
"It's devastating," said Mark Welch, of Haverford Homes. "It's a setback to us. There's a lot of pride that goes into building these homes. Each contractor has a sense of value toward the house, so there's a pride instilled in what they do. It's devastating to that."
Developers told News4 the subdivision was started in late fall of last year and the only thing erected so far was part of the division's model home. When finished, the structure would have been worth about $1.4 million, according to the developer. It was supposed to be a showcase home for the development, which will eventually have 47 homes on 2-acre sites costing between $800,000 and $1.6 million.
Subcontractors told News4 the home had no electricity, no propane and nothing else that might cause a fire. Investigators have not yet ruled the fire arson or suspicious.
In the past two years, there have been 12 suspicious fires, including five homes under construction, one vacant house, two vehicles and several sheds and outbuildings.
"Fire investigators are all working extremely hard," said Prince George's County fire spokesman Mark Brady. "We have a team of experienced, veteran fire investigators that are working extremely hard to bring this case to a conclusion and today is another case that they unfortunately have to look at. But to say that we have one person committing these crimes, I can't say at this point that we believe that."
The fire Wednesday morning happened just miles from the site of Maryland's largest arson fire in history. That fire was at the Hunter's Brook development in nearby Charles County in December 2004. Three men were charged in those arsons and one received nearly 20 years in prison.
Mike Quade was a subcontractor on the Charles County site and he is also working at the St. James site. He did not want to comment on Wednesday morning's fire. He said he would wait until authorities finish their investigation.
No security was patrolling the St. James development.
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