Arsonist targets unoccupied houses

Sixteen vacant houses in Poplar Bluff, Mo., have been intentionally set on fire since February.

Fire officials say there is no pattern to the fires. They haven't been set during the same time of day, in the same area of town or in the same locations in the structures.

The only commonalities are the structures were unoccupied and arson was found to be the cause.

Of the approximately 60 to 80 structure fires the Poplar Bluff Fire Department responds to annually, 25 percent have involved these homes, and a total of 40 have burned since February 2015.

The rash of suspected arson fires involving the unoccupied houses has local and state fire officials asking for the public's help as they fear the number of fires will continue to grow and someone, including firefighters, may end up hurt or killed.

"The Division of Fire Safety's main concern is public safety, and we don't want anybody hurt," said Jason Dunn, regional chief investigator with the State Fire Marshal's Office. "Unfortunately, somebody else is going to get hurt, and it's not going to be a good day when it happens."

Poplar Bluff Fire Chief Ralph Stucker said firefighters already have been hurt, including one who "went through the floor" of a vacant house and dropped probably seven to eight feet.

That firefighter's partner also was hurt during the same incident, said Stucker, who indicated that firefighter sprained his ankle after he exited the house and jumped off a side porch while trying to get around back to where the first firefighter fell through.

The injuries, Stucker said, occurred at a vacant house on Oak Street as they were "doing a search of the structure."

Stucker said the first firefighter arriving at a structure fire "always assumes there is someone in the house. They always have to be prepared for a possible rescue."

That mind set doesn't change "even if it's a vacant house," Stucker said. "They treat it just like it was occupied."

Fire Capt. Steve Burkhead agreed.

"Just because the neighbors are telling us everyone is out of the house (or) reports that its a vacant house, until we clear the structure, it is considered occupied," he said.

Burkhead and Capt. Roy Lane both cited the city's homeless and transient population as possibly being found taking shelter in these houses if the weather is cold or rainy.

Some of the arson fires, according to Dunn, have involved structures, which have been vacant six months, a year or longer.

Some have burnt multiple times, added Stucker.

"Some of the fires are the size of a trash can; some of them consume two or three rooms (or have been set) at multiple places in some rooms," Dunn said. "Some have been on the exterior. ... There is no pattern to them."

The fires, Burkhead said, are random.

"People that live north of Sunset, they don't realize we have a problem in town," Burkhead said.

Dunn agreed.

"You've got them from about mid-town, east and south," he said. "You don't have (anything) extremely north, and you definitely don't have anything west."

Monetary gain, Dunn said, also isn't a factor as most of the houses do not have insurance. And, sometimes, when the houses have been vacant for an extended period of time, the owners can't be found.

For the houses with insurance, Dunn said, it is costly for everyone.

"Most people think arson is a victimless crime, when, if fact, it's not," Dunn said. "It costs the United States more money" than any other crime.

If a house does have insurance and a claim is paid, then "everybody pays for that eventually," Dunn said. "Your rates are going to go up; my rates are going to go up."

Arson, according to Dunn, is the "most costly of crimes," but also the crime that goes unsolved the most.

Whether an insurance claim is paid or not, fire officials said, it is costly to fight and investigate that fire.

On structure fires, typically all three stations may end up responding.

Nine firefighters are on each shift, so "you're looking at all their gear and equipment they have ... that's their turnout gear, air packs, radios, helmets, boots, everything they have to have to protect them and the trucks to get them there; that's over a $1 million in assets," said Stucker, who indicated that $1 million number doesn't include the equipment carried on the trucks or the firefighters' salaries.

Depending on the size of the fire, Stucker said, a "full call back" may be needed of the other two shifts of firefighters, who will receive overtime (time and a half) pay for their work.

Plus, there's the money that goes into the investigation, Dunn added.

Investigators with the Division of Fire Safety, such as himself, as well as detectives with Poplar Bluff Police Department and possibly a local fire investigator, may be called in to investigate the fire, said Dunn.

Such was the case in the early morning hours of June 7 when firefighters fought back-to-back fires at vacant homes located two blocks apart. One shift was called back to fight the second fire, and both were found to have been intentionally set.

The firefighters were called to a fire on North Main Street before they could clear from the fire scene on Stella Street.

"When my boot hit the ground out of my truck, I was walking to (Stucker), and they got punched out on the other one," said Dunn, who indicated his reaction was: "Are you freaking kidding me?"

There is a good possibility "the guys are being watched," said Stucker, who indicated the smoke on Main Street that day was so thick they couldn't see down the street. " ... That is very concerning to know we are being watched."

Stucker said his concern, since "someone is doing this," is whether it "gets to the point where our guys get attacked.

"In today's environment, we have to have that thought in our minds" to ensure the firefighters are protected.

"I want to make sure these guys go home at the end of a shift, and we want to make sure the public is safe," he said.

This situation is "something we've never dealt with," Stucker said. "We're having a hard time figuring out how we combat that."

As they look for ways to combat what's happening, fire officials hope the fires don't begin to escalate.

"When someone does it because they are fascinated by fire, they will start off burning natural cover, trash cans, then they will go to outbuildings," Stucker explained. "Then, eventually they graduate ... this doesn't satisfy them anymore, so they go to vacant buildings."

Once that thrill is gone, Stucker said, it becomes occupied structures.

"With the newer building construction we have today, fires burn hotter and faster than they ever have before," Stucker said.

Firefighters, he said, have to get to those buildings as quick as possible "to get out ahead of it. Some of the modern structures, we have a very short window to execute a rescue."

Battling a "large working structure fire," Burkhead said, also ties up all the department's resources.

"We have to break crews away from that for any other emergency that may arise in the city," such as accidents, Burkhead said.

Fire officials, the chief said, are asking the citizens of Poplar Bluff to be aware of their surroundings and the comings and goings of people in their neighborhoods.

Dunn agreed.

"If they see something that's not right, call the Poplar Bluff PD," said Dunn.

Citizens, even those choosing to do so anonymously, may call the state's arson hotline at 1-800-39-ARSON, said Dunn, who also indicated there is a $5,000 reward fund set up for information leading to an arrest involving arson.

"Calling these incendiary fires, that's the easy part," Dunn said. "Knowing who did it isn't that hard if you've got the information ... despite all the investigative work we've put in, we have no suspects."

That is why fire officials are reaching out to the public for help.

"We believe, given the number of fires, someone has seen something, heard something or has some information that will assist investigators," Dunn said.

What a citizen knows, he said, may not seem significant to him or her, but might help investigators piece together enough clues to lead to an arrest.