Feb. 07--CLINTON -- Causes still have not been found for several recent area fires.
Clinton Fire Marshal Mike Brown said the fire department is still investigating multiple Clinton fires. Some of the fires are being investigated as accidents, while others are being considered suspicious.
The fire department is still investigating the Nov. 28 accidental fire that cost Patricia J. Erickson, 67, her life.
When firefighters responded to the fire just before 2 a.m. at 2100 N. Sixth St. just before they found the house "fully involved" with flames. The roof of the house collapsed as well. Brown said that with so much damage, determining the exact cause of the fire has been difficult.
The fire department has been working with other entities to determine the exact cause. An insurance company took the stove from the house to check if the stove was the cause. Brown said they will wait until they have all the reports back before they issue anything on the fire.
The fire department is investigating several vacant house fires, which are being considered suspicious. Two examples of these vacant house fires are the Jan. 6 fire at 761 14th Ave. South and the Oct. 11 blaze at 541 11th Ave. South. In the case of the October fire, a vacant home was fully engulfed in flames and collapsed within 10 minutes of firefighters arriving on scene. The flames damaged the two homes on either side of the house.
"Obviously there's no real good reason for a vacant house fire," Brown said.
The fire department is still investigating these and other possibly suspicious fires. Brown encourages people with information on a fire to contact the Clinton County Crime Stoppers at 242-6595 or 1-888-883-8015 or the Iowa Arson Hotline at 1-800-532-1459.
"Some (fires) get solved quicker than others," Brown said.
Brown added that sometimes it can take a year or two for people to start talking and for information to become more available. He said that vacant home fires can be more difficult to solve because there is not a local owner who might know if anyone held a grudge or if anything suspicious had happened before the fire. In some cases, the house may be owned by a holding company located out of state.
Brown cautioned anyone living in a neighborhood with vacant homes to be diligent. If they notice any suspicious activity, he asked they notify the authorities so the matter can be looked into.
Copyright 2012 - Clinton Herald, Iowa
