Prichard mayor speaks out on fires

PRICHARD,Ala. (WALA) - The Prichard fire chief said some of these cases could be arson, but most of them are probably due to homeless people

Locals are very suspicious, and Prichard Mayor Ron Davis is asking the public to help them solve the case.

All throughout Prichard, homes and buildings have been going up in flames. Thankfully no one has been hurt, but many people want answers.

"I just don't believe that all those fires are just random fires,” said downtown business owner Leonard McCants.

In a statement issued to FOX10 News Mayor Davis said

“I am working with the Fire and Police Departments to catch the individual that are (sic) responsible for these fires. More details will be given soon. I don't believe that these are electrical fires but they are being investigated. We need our citizens to keep their eyes open and pay attention to what's is (sic) going on around them and report it."

State Fire Marshal Ed Paulk said his office has only been called to investigate the three fires downtown. But since the buildings had already been razed, the investigation is nearly impossible. He said even if homeless people are allegedly behind some of these fires, this pattern is very unusual.

Paulk said, "Fires like that won't stop until we investigate, determine who is doin it, and cause them to stop."

The state fire marshal said he'd like to look into all of these suspicious fires. We tried to reach out to Prichard Fire Chief Mark Trenier for a comment, but he was unavailable.

Bishop Arthur Holmes owned one of the buildings that was destroyed, and he wonders why anyone would be doing this.

Holmes said, "I hope to see some type of concern from the powers that be to say that, 'We're working on it. We're sorry that your building burned down.' The spirit I get is 'We're glad to see these old buildings going.'

The state fire marshal said if these fires were intentional, it would be a felony, and even if some were caused by homeless people, they could be charged with arson third degree.

The official also said that anybody can request the state fire marshal to conduct an investigation- it could be a business owner, homeowner, or even a concerned citizen.