Weekend fires add to a string of suspicious blazes in Stowe
September 3, 2020 | By Lisa ScagliottiState and local fire investigators are seeking the public’s help for clues in the latest in a string of suspicious fires in Stowe, the most recent happening overnight Saturday into early Sunday morning.
Vermont State Police Detective Sgt. Todd Ambroz outlined details of the weekend fires in a news release.
He said that the first call came at 10:17 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, for a fire in a large metal dumpster on River Road in Stowe. The Stowe Fire Department responded and extinguished the fire which destroyed the contents of the dumpster but did not damage any other buildings or property nearby, police said.
Stowe Police Chief Don Hull said the container was located below the Green Goddess Cafe on South Main Street.
The second call that night came at 1:20 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 30. Ambroz described that a smoke alarm went off at 172 Thomas Lane in the Stowe Cable Vision building. Stowe Police were the first on the scene to discover the building on fire. Stowe Fire Department responded and extinguished the blaze before it spread to other parts of the building, limiting the extent of the damage, police said.
Stowe Fire Chief Kyle Walker asked the Vermont Department of Public Safety Fire & Explosion Unit to conduct an origin and cause investigation. That was done Monday, Aug. 31.
“The FEIU conducted an investigation and was able to determine the fire was intentionally set and is considered an arson,” Ambroz wrote in his report. “The fire which occurred in a dumpster off of River Road on Saturday evening, August 29th, is also considered suspicious.”
These incidents are the latest in a string of suspicious fires in Stowe that included a three-car garage near a condominium development that was destroyed by fire at 120 S. Main St. in early June. That fire began in a dumpster, according to investigators.
On March 30, 2019, fire destroyed the Stoware Common building housing multiple businesses and storage space at 68 S. Main St. The same night, the Helen Day Memorial Building at 90 Pond St. was damaged by fire. Less than three weeks later, the Stowe Chiropractic building at 14 Pond St. was the scene of another suspicious fire.
In an interview Wednesday, Chief Hull said none of the fire investigations previous to this week have been resolved. “This is adding to the list,” he said of the weekend fires.
Hull said he wasn’t prepared to discuss the incidents as a group yet. He promised more information would be released to the public in the next couple of weeks.
In the meantime, he reminds the public that the Vermont Arson Tip Award Program offers up to $5,000 for information leading to the arrest of anyone involved in an arson.
Contact the program on its telephone hotline at 1-800-322-7766.
Investigators working on the cases are also interested in hearing from individuals with tips. Contact Det. Sgt. Ambroz of the Vermont State Police at the Williston Barracks at 878-7111, or by email at todd.ambroz@vermont.gov. The Stowe Police Department contact is Det. Sgt. Fred Whitcomb, 253-7126.