MEDFORD, Ore. – Police and firefighters have been busy chasing suspicious fires for the better part of three weeks, but no suspects have been arrested in any of those cases.
The latest was a string of five small fires set in alleys in west Medford Wednesday. All of those fires were small and only damaged fences and sheds, and police suspect a serial arsonist is responsible. The fifth fire damaged a vacant home on West Main Street, which burned last year during another string of arson fires.
The five fires are not the only suspicious fires crews have dealt with recently. In late June, flames ripped through a warehouse on Fir Street, but investigators could not find a specific cause, and classified it as undetermined. Last week, a fire at an abandoned building along Kings Highway was ruled to be human-caused and intentionally set, but no arrests have been made. Another fire last week destroyed two apartments on Holly Street, and the cause is still under investigation.
Investigators said they do not think those three fires are connected to Wednesday’s arson fires, but said they look for similar characteristics in recent fires.
“If we can rule out all sorts of outside or other contributing factors to a fire, then it pretty much leads us to what’s left and that would be human caused,” said Samantha Metheny, Fire Investigator for Medford Fire.
Medford Police are requesting any information that can help in the investigation on Wednesday’s arson fires.
