Crime & Safety

3 Morning Fires, Including Burned Portable at Elementary Likely Arson

By Bay City News—

Three one-alarm fires that burned in Fremont's Warm Springs neighborhood early this morning appear to have been set intentionally, fire officials said.
 
The first fire started at about 2:40 a.m. at a YMCA portable building adjacent to James Leitch Elementary School at 47100 Fernald St., Battalion Chief Ron McCormick said.

[Related article: YMCA Portable Building at James Leitch Elementary Burned During Fire]
 
The building houses a before and after school care program, and the floor was badly damaged, he said. The staff will need to find another location for the program this morning, McCormick said.
 
While responding to the first fire, firefighters saw smoke near the baseball diamond at Warm Springs Park at 47300 Fernald Ave., McCormick said. A shed had caught fire, and the flames spread to a nearby tree.

A Little League team had been using the score booth, which was significantly damaged, according to McCormick. Some of the team's equipment was lost in the fire, Deputy Fire Marshal Amiel Thurston said.

Firefighters also responded to a third fire at 3:15 a.m. at a women's bathroom at Warm Springs Park, he said.

All three fires were put out within 15 to 20 minutes and no injuries were reported, McCormick said. Thurston said this morning that it appears all three blazes were intentionally set.

Their proximity in time and location to each other suggest that they may have been set by the same person or group of people, he said. Investigators have not identified any suspects.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.