Spate of structural fires have some county firefighters suspicious of arson

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – A spate of structural fires in the Richardsville, Hadley, Barren River and Browning Volunteer Fire Department service areas have some firefighters questioning if the fires are the result of an arsonist at work.

Over the past couple of weeks, there has been a significant increase in fires in Warren County. Some firefighters are chalking it up to more people spending more time at home due to COVID-19 while others are thinking there could be arson involved.

In the past three weeks, the north western part of Warren County has experienced at least seven structural fires.

Of the seven fires, five caused significant damage to the property and four occurred in unoccupied structures.

The Barren River and Hadley Volunteer Fire Departments were both called to six of the seven fires.

Usually they respond to about that many structural fires with significant damage over the course of a whole year, so this is an alarming amount in just three weeks.

Hadley Volunteer Fire Chief Russell Justice compared the spike to the last time he saw a significant increase in fires a few decades ago.

Back then, the increase was assumed to be arson, but no one was ever charged.

“Several years ago in our district there was a lot of old houses around and we were having a lot of structural fires then. Abandoned houses were getting burnt down for some unknown reason, never could catch nobody doing it,” said Justice.

Some firefighters are suspicious of arson and investigators were called to a scene in Hadley to investigate.

Officials were unable to determine the cause of the fire.

Some firefighters, like Captain Brad Frogge, believe the pandemic could be to blame.

“The quarantine and the COVID, definitely a factor because people are at home now and then the time year definitely. Yearly, no matter what really is going on, yearly, this time of year, there is usually a small increase in fires,” said Frogge.

Frogge did add however, that the increase has never been this steep in such a short time.

Officials encourage people to keep a lookout for fire safety hazards in homes but also to keep a lookout on the roads to see if there are any suspicious vehicles coming by.

Officials also are advising the public to test their heaters and fireplaces, and to be cautious while cooking.

They also are encouraging the public to put up cameras by sheds or abandoned buildings and watch for any suspicious behavior.