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ARSONISTS CAUSE GRASS FIRES
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2016
By Cathryne Scharton
[email protected]
A total of 14 grass fires were intentionally set and are being investigated as arson, according to local
law enforcement. Crews from numerous fire departments responded Saturday morning to grass fires
spanning several miles from the
1500 block of Road 175 east.
The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office says at approximately 10:30
a.m. Saturday, Lyon County deputies, the Emporia Fire Department
and Reading’s fire department
responded to a report of multiple
fires which had been started along
Road 175 just north of Interstate
35.
“There were a total of 14 starting points to the fire,” the press release stated. “The fires span from
Road R, east along the I-35 corridor
to the Coffey County line. The fires
are under investigation as arson.”
The suspect vehicle is an early
1990s Chevrolet or GMC, black
or dark blue in color, single-cab or
possibly extended cab. Two white
males in their mid-30s, both with
V V V
PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING
full beards, are considered suspects.
Lori Roach noticed smoke near
the New Life Christian Church of
Emporia Saturday.
“I was just out here playing with
about seven little kids on the playground there and I looked down
the hill and I saw a little smoke
coming up so I ran down the hill
and noticed there was a fire. It
was only about 5-by-10 feet at that
time, so I hurried all the kids inside,” said Roach. “I told some of
the deacons here at the church
that there was a fire and then, like,
eight guys ran out and took care of
it. But it spread quick and fast; we
just couldn’t control it.”
Church members worked for
about 45 minutes to extinguish the
fire near their property.
“People coming on Old 50 said
it’s for several miles up that way
(east),” said Tom Herring of Emporia. “We tried to put it out as
much as possible but with all that
dead brush and the wind, there was
nothing we could do.”
Please see Arson, Page 3
FAMILY OWNED SINCE 1895
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KENDRA JOHNSON/GAZETTE
Several fire departments responded to a grass fire at the 1500 block of Road 175 on Saturday.
FIRE CREWS BATTLE 2 WEEKEND STRUCTURE FIRES
By Cathryne Scharton
[email protected]
Two abandoned structures
caught fire this weekend.
Hartford
Around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday
an abandoned church in Hartford
caught on fire after a welding accident.
A witness, who asked to remain
unnamed, said he believed the
fire started when someone was
welding a metal handrail near the
church. The torch started a fire
which spread to the church. The
fire grew until the church was fully
engulfed.
KENDRA JOHNSON/GAZETTE
Witnesses indicated the church
KENDRA JOHNSON/GAZETTE
was vacant and had been for some Fire crews work on extinguishing a structure fire in Hartford on
time; there was nothing inside.
Saturday. The structure was an abandoned church and the fire
Firefighters extinguish a fire at a house on Sunday.
“It’s been abandoned for a cou- began after a welding accident.
ple years,” said Fred SchwinghamFirefighters
er of Hartford. “They had it on a
work to
list to tear down.”
extinguish
Some observers loudly voiced
a fire at a
their opinion the structure should
house on
just burn to the ground.
the corner
Some of the crew members
of Fifth
fighting the Hartford fire had also
Avenue and
been at earlier grass fires in the
State Street
area. Police believe arsonists were
on Sunday.
responsible for a string of fires
along Interstate 35 and Old Highway 50 (Road 175).
Crews faced water shortage issues and water trucks brought water in from off-sight to help fight
the blaze.
The fire emitted a range of different colors of smoke.
“That’s the fire cooking,” said
a crew member who asked to remain nameless. “Black smoke,
it’s boiling good. The darker the
smoke, the more it’s boiling.”
An article by fireenginnering.
com states that brown smoke, like
Please see Fire, Page 3
VOL. 124, NO. 206
KENDRA JOHNSON/GAZETTE