Full Text:

Arson Investigation Launched After Fire At Hawley School

(with photo)

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

Fire and police officials are investigating a first-degree arson case in which

someone entered Hawley School at about 5 pm July 23 and set kindling materials

on fire in the middle of the school's older gymnasium, scorching the floor and

creating heavy white smoke.

First-degree arson is a Class A felony in which a fire is set in an occupied

building with the intent of damaging or destroying the building. There were no

injuries in this case.

Fire Marshal George Lockwood, with the assistance of police, was interviewing

skateboarding male teenagers on the afternoon of July 24 in the school's

eastern parking lot, not far from where the fire had been set the previous

day.

The youths initially resisted providing their identities to the fire marshal.

Mr Lockwood said skateboarders had been seen at the school about the time of

the fire.

Eight people, including janitors and teachers, had been in the school when the

fire was set, according to the fire marshal. The people were getting ready to

leave Hawley School when a janitor smelled smoke, went to the gym and found

the floor ablaze, Mr Lockwood said. School janitors brought the burning debris

outside the building.

The person or persons who set the fire ignited a pile of wooden kindling,

sawdust and paper, probably with the use of a cigarette lighter, Mr Lockwood

said. The gym-area doors had been left open at the time to provide access for

a construction crew that was doing work in the building.

It was fortunate that the janitor smelled smoke before leaving for the day, Mr

Lockwood explained. Otherwise, he said there might have been extensive damage

to the school.

The fire scorched a section of gym floor. Some floor repairs will be needed,

he said.

Mr Lockwood estimates the fire had been set about 15 minutes before it was

discovered.

Mr Lockwood termed the Hawley School arson "a serious offense." Besides

investigating forensic evidence gathered at the fire scene, such as

footprints, Mr Lockwood has conducted interviews to learn who set the fire.

"When you put peoples' lives in danger, it's `arson one,'" he said.

Newtown Hook and Ladder and Sandy Hook firefighters went to the scene.

Detective Investigates

"We're lucky the damage was limited," said Police Detective Sergeant Henry

Stormer, to whom Mr Lockwood has turned over the arson investigation. Det Sgt

Stormer, a deputy fire marshal, estimates the cost to repair the damaged gym

floor at several thousand dollars.

Investigators are checking on possible links among fires set at Newtown Middle

School, the Grand Union supermarket and Hawley School during the past year, he

said.

"We're not turning a blind eye to anything at this time," he said.

Police are working to develop information on possible suspects and bring the

investigation to a successful conclusion, he said.

The fires that have occurred at Newtown Middle School and Grand Union during

the past year have been "nuisance fires," Det Sgt Stormer said. Those have

included fires involving dumpsters, leaves, and packaging material, he said.

Det Sgt Stormer said juveniles may be setting the fires. It's unclear if the

fire setters have any malicious intent, he added.

About one month ago, firefighters responded to a case of reckless burning at

Newtown Middle School, where someone had set some paper aflame in a hedge

after school hours.

There are various reasons that youths set fires, Det Sgt Stormer said. He

noted that some teens do so out of curiosity, others seek to impress their

peers, and others do it as an emotional reaction to past situations. Some

fires are set simply as gags or pranks, he said.

A fire such as the one set in the Hawley School gym could spread within the

building and pose the potential for injuries, he said. Evidence in the case

indicates the fire in the school likely was set by a young person, Det Sgt

Stormer said.

Before the fire at Hawley School, "No Skateboarding" signs had been posted at

Newtown Middle School and Middle Gate School. After the Hawley School fire,

such signs were posted at Hawley School, Newtown High School, Head O'Meadow

School and Sandy Hook School.