Rash of Arsons Concerns IL Firefighters

Jul. 29—It's been frustrating for Jacksonville fire and police officials as they work to find those responsible for a string of suspicious fires that have plagued the city.

There have been 14 suspicious fires since March 2022 and all of them appear to have been intentionally set. Despite their best efforts, officials have yet to identify the culprits.

That's a worry to Jacksonville Fire Chief Doug Sills, whose department is working with the Jacksonville Police Department to solve these crimes.

"It will end poorly if this continues. My fear is someone is going to get hurt as whoever is doing this gets bolder," Sills said.

The fires termed suspicious in origin are:

2023

* July 24: 1910 W. Morton Ave., Star Lite Motel

* July 24: 1011 Hackett Ave.

* July 23: 503 N. Church St.

* July 14: 606 N. Church St.

* May 26: 606 N. Church St.

* April 16: 603 N. Fayette St.

2022

* Dec. 14: 300 block of Anna Street, porch of occupied residence

* Nov. 8: Jacksonville Development Center dietary building

* Sept. 22: 408 N. Fayette St.

* Aug. 1: 337 W. Lafayette Ave.

* June 4: 310 Sherman St.

* May 23: 607 N. East St.

* May 1: 320 Farrell St.

* March 24: 603 N. Fayette St.

Sills is most concerned about the northeast section of the city, especially the area within the boundaries of West State Street and West Lafayette Avenue, and North West and North Diamond streets. He has particular concerns about the 400 block of North Church Street.

"We are taking steps in that area. There are several buildings we are watching. One is under renovation and there are no windows, so we are trying to secure that. We are walking the neighborhoods to look at the problems. We are trying to become more familiar with the area," Sills said.

"We believe the fires in that area are all related. The fire at 503 N. Church on Sunday was part of it, too," Sills said.

The Sunday fire was the first in a trio of fires that kept the department busy last weekend.

As Jacksonville and South Jacksonville firefighters were almost finished putting out a fire that had been reported at 1:30 a.m. at an abandoned house at 1011 Hackett Ave., they were called to the Star Lite Motel, 1910 W. Morton Ave., where a fire erupted in the northeast corner of the complex at 3:18 a.m.

The fire at the unoccupied motel was the 14th suspicious fire reported to the Jacksonville Fire Department since March 2022. The motel had an estimated $200,000 damage.

"This has created a burden for the city," Sills said. "We are spending money fighting the fires, then the abandoned structures have to be demolished. A lot of these issues are caused by squatting. We are fortunate no one has been hurt during all of these fires."

A big danger with arson is the fires usually are not discovered until they are well under way and noticeable to others.

"The Sunday morning fire was called in by a passerby on his way to work. But when a house is unoccupied there is no early detection. If burning houses are interspersed between occupied houses, I get concerned about the hazards for the people in the occupied structures," Sills said.

"Not being able to early detect can make the fire worse and more difficult for us because it will be in the latter stages of the fire. So, we get behind the 8-ball. We play catch up instead of getting ahead of it," Sills said.

Arson cases are sporadic in Jacksonville, Sills said, but it is something almost every community experiences at some time.

"We had a period in the 1990s when we had some juvenile fire-setters that caused a lot of problems and now we have this string. It comes and goes in cycles. It's the same everywhere," Sills said.

It's hard to determine a state rate for arson because state investigators are not called in to investigate every fire or arson case in Illinois, said JC Fultz, public information officer for the Office of the State Fire Marshal.

"The statistics we have are only based on investigations conducted by (our office). Some local jurisdictions have their own trained fire investigators," Fultz said.

Arson is the leading cause of fire in the United States, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Each year, an estimated 267,000 fires are attributed to arson, which result in $1.4 billion in property loss and cause more than 2,000 injuries and 475 deaths, according to FEMA.

Solving arson cases is difficult and, according to statistics from the FBI, only 15% to 20% of arsons end up in arrests and convictions.

Arson is difficult to investigate for three reasons, according to FEMA. An arsonist can plan the arson in advance and bring all the tools needed to commit the act with them; an arsonist does not need to be present at the time of the act; and the fire itself destroys evidence tying an arsonist to the crime.

"Arson accounts for a large percentage of all fires. Because arson fires can be somewhat difficult to determine or detect, the actual number of arson fires tends to be underreported. Some fire officials estimate that as many as 50% of all fires may be intentionally set," Fultz said.

"Fire officials often try to measure the cost of arson using statistics, such as lives lost or dollars lost," Fultz said. "The actual cost involves several factors that are more difficult to determine. Arson fires in a neighborhood can have a significant impact on property values of all structures in the area."

The legal definition of arson is setting a fire to profit from destroying property. Sills said the term arson is used because someone is setting a fire and destroying property. Anyone caught committing these crimes would be charged with arson but would be on the hook only for the ones where proof exists.

Because the targeted buildings are vacant, Sills said it's hard to say what is motivating the person doing this.

"We need to figure out who's doing it and why," Sills said. "There are similarities from the scenes as we process them, so the hope is we can tie them back to an individual. It is difficult to find, arrest and prosecute someone for arson."

In Illinois, arson is a felony with a sentence range of three to seven years, fines up to $25,000 and four years of probation. Residential arson, which is the burning of someone else's dwelling, is a Class 1 felony, with the same punishment range as arson.

If a structure is occupied and they knew it was occupied, it can be upgraded to aggravated arson, Sills said. Aggravated arson is a Class X felony, which is the most serious offense in Illinois with the exception of first-degree murder and carries a mandatory prison sentence of six to 30 years in prison.

"We are doing what we can until we can get a break," Sills said. "It's cliche, but if you see something, say something. If you see someone who doesn't belong in the neighborhood or someone is acting suspiciously, report it. It might be nothing, but it could be something."

Sills said property owners should pay attention to property maintenance. Sills drove down an alley recently and saw Dumpsters close to houses, and pallets stacked next to houses.

"Don't make it easier for them. Make sure things are cleaned up and debris is away from the house," Sills said.

"We are working the evidence and putting in due diligence on every fire scene and we'll see where the evidence takes us. We need the community to be our eyes and watch and report something when they see something," Sills said.

___

(c)2023 the Jacksonville Journal-Courier (Jacksonville, Ill.)

Visit the Jacksonville Journal-Courier (Jacksonville, Ill.) at www.myjournalcourier.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.