Four arsons in 22 minutes; fire officials ask for help in west Springfield

Springfield fire officials are hoping for help from the public in finding an arsonist who ignited four buildings — one occupied — within 22 minutes of each other, causing damage and a significant use of manpower and equipment.

In the wake of the fires, the fire department is also advocating more discussion aimed at creating signs to show which buildings in the city are vacant. That would allow the department to better assess whether to risk firefighters rushing into those buildings.

The four fires, which started about 11:30 p.m. Saturday, did not hurt anyone. But because the arsonist set fire to an occupied home, the crime is considered a higher level felony and more serious.

That fire, considered a first-degree arson, was in the 2100 block of Calhoun Street, said Springfield Fire Marshal Bill Spence. He said the arsonist walked through an unlocked door to start the fire.

The other three fires, considered second-degree arsons, damaged a detached garage in the 2000 block of West Webster Street and two vacant homes. All the fires were within a few blocks of each other, Spence said.

The higher degree felony is a Class B, which could bring as much as 15 years in prison. Second-degree arson is a Class C felony, which could result in a maximum seven-year prison sentence.

The fire department has posted signs in the neighborhood saying "Help Stop Arson" with the Crimestoppers tip line, 869-TIPS.

No specific amount of loss is concrete at this point, but Spence gave a ballpark estimate of about $25,000.

In all, about 10 fire vehicles and 45 members of the fire department were involved in fighting the fires, Spence said, lamenting that, "while we're battling that, it leaves some of the other parts of the city uncovered."

However, he also said firefighters were able to quickly assess that most of the fires were able to be brought under control without great threat of major damage, so firefighters were quickly returned to stations.

Spence asked anyone with information to call the tip line.

Randy Villines, assistant fire chief, said the possibility of putting signs on vacant structures "is in discussion now." He compared the possible signs to those currently used to alert firefighters to chemicals in a building, a program called 704 Placard.

More and careful discussion of the idea is needed, Villines said. "While it's a fire issue, it's also a community issue. How do you best approach that? How many vacant houses do we have? Is it a big number? Is it a small number?"

City code enforcement staffers with the city's Building Development Services Department are part of the discussion for now, and the fire department is reviewing how some larger urban areas have implemented signage. Villines gave the example of a building so dilapidated it has no flooring, yet the firefighters' first job is typically to get inside a building to look for people, to help them out.

If a house or commercial structure is marked as unoccupied, or worse, unsound, firefighters would put the blaze out first and then check the interior.

Villines acknowledged the "double-edged sword" that signs could create: Marking a structure vacant could lure squatters.