According to a report from KATV, the Little Rock (AR) Fire Department (LRFD) said it is on the lookout for a possible arsonist or arsonists in the city’s historic Wright Avenue neighborhood.
LRFD Chief Delphone Hubbard said the department has seen a surge of fire calls since January, responding to 23 fires in the Wright Avenue neighborhood. Hubbard also said the department has seen multiple fires set to homes, cars, trash, and dumpsters.
The LRFD and city officials have obtained multiple surveillance videos of two people igniting trash and dumpsters from between 2 a.m. and 7 a.m.
One person was arrested in March and charged for reckless burning, but was later released despite there being evidence to the contrary. That suspect didn’t give a reason for setting the fires. Hubbard said the LRFD saw a decrease in fire calls from March until early April, but they are now experiencing a second round of fires.
Wright Avenue Neighborhood Association President Sheila Miles said residents of the neighborhood’s 700 homes are concerned for their safety since the fires began. Miles said the signs on those homes that are boarded from the fires are creating other criminal activity.
LRFD officials said they are increasing patrols in the area.
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