Three suspicious
fires kept firefighters hard at work on Halloween,
making a total of 10 such fires in two weeks, according to a
story in the Cape Cod Times.
At 9:18 p.m.,
firefighters were called to a house at 10 Bradford St. and
were still on location at press time, the police told the
Times. Earlier in the day, a fire was believed
set at a house at 2 Commercial St.
The damage has
been limited so far because flames have been spotted early
by passers-by, or the fires have failed to take off, acting
police chief Warren Tobias told the Times. "My
concern is that sooner or later they're going to
succeed," he said of whoever is responsible for
setting the fires.
Last night at the
473 Commercial St. fire, the red flashing lights of the
fire trucks lit up the east end waterfront property located
between Bangs and Cook streets. A police dog barked in
a cruiser, and another one stood quietly next to its
master. Police discussed the type of sneaker imprint
that was found near the property.
A witness to the
fire at 2 Commercial St. produced a description of a
middle-aged white man whom police want to question,
Tobias said. The man is 5 foot 10, about 45 years old,
and has gray hair. He was wearing a white or tan
baseball cap, with a white short-sleeve T-shirt, a
blue fleece vest, and blue jeans.
Tobias declined
to say what type of evidence had been found at the fire
to indicate arson. He noted that the earlier fires have all
occurred at night..
A grass fire on
October 17 in the west end may have been the first in the
string of arsons, he said. Among others, a Dumpster fire
occurred on October 23 at 81 Province Lands Road,
followed by a trash-can fire the same night at West
Vine and Commercial streets. Police believe a fire was
attempted inside a half-built house on October 26 at 98
Bayberry Ave., Tobias said. Passers-by put out flames
later on October 26 on a two-foot square of wooden
shingles on the beach side of the West End Racing Club
at 81 Commercial St.
If they were
deliberately set, the fires could have been the work of more
than one person. (The Advocate)