Saturday, March 18, 2006
The fires caused 'very minimal' damage.
WARREN -- Police and firefighters are investigating four small fires at the Warner House apartments, 182 High St. N.E., in the city's downtown, all of them listed as intentionally set.
Three of the fires were reported at 1:53 a.m. March 11, one on the elevator, and the others at apartment doors on the second and fourth floors of the six-story building, which has many elderly and disabled residents.
Investigators took samples from carpets and doors, a burned "oxygen in use" sign, and three unidentified burned pieces of paper, according to the police report.
A complaining witness told police unidentified people had entered the building, which has a locked front door with a buzzer system, and started the fires.
At 10:35 p.m. Wednesday, a fifth-floor apartment door decoration was set on fire and melted onto the door, causing $50 damage, the fire department said. The blaze was extinguished by a resident before firefighters arrived. Firefighters advised a maintenance man to have residents remove combustible door decorations.
The fires collectively did "very minimal" damage and none of them caused any injuries, said fire investigator Shawn Peura. No suspects are in custody.
Oxygen will fuel a fire, but oxygen tanks won't explode unless they become very hot, Peura said. "They're very, very strong bottles, and it takes a lot to get them to finally let go," he added.
Entrance signs say smoking is prohibited throughout the apartment building.