Firefighters responded to the scenes of two separate structure fires in the early morning hours Monday, one in Lakeview and the other in the White River Valley in the Buford area, and both are being investigated as potential arson. The homes belong to the same owner, whose name has not been officially released, and authorities are seeking him as a subject of interest in the case.
Although initial reports at the scene indicated there may have been someone inside the residence, there have been no reports of any injuries.
According to Grover Fire Chief and Baxter County Office of Emergency Management Director Jim Sierzchula, the Grover Township Fire Department responded to the first fire at approximately 3:45 Monday morning. It was located at 952 Hickory Flats Lane, Northwest of Leisure Hills, and was fully involved when Sierzchula, who was first on the scene, arrived.
He says initial investigation suggests arson as the cause. There were file cabinets completely opened, suspected to be intentionally burned and possibly used as a type of accelerant.
The Buford Volunteer Fire Department, along with all mutual aid personnel, were paged out to the other structure fire at approximately 5:20 Monday morning. The residence is apparently located on Buffalo Rapids Lane, in the White River Valley area of Buford.
The blaze there was put out around 9:37 Monday morning.
The majority of Grover firefighters returned to quarters at approximately 5:30 Monday morning with two ambulances dispatched to the scene around that time. Firefighters were dispatched back to the area at approximately 7:51 this morning as a portion of the fire rekindled. It was eventually put back out and the investigation continues.
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