Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Thetford — State investigators are outside the Thetford Police Department trying to determine the cause of a suspicious fire that destroyed all three of the town’s cruisers overnight.
State Police Sgt. Steve Otis, with the fire investigation unit, said that investigators are working to determine the origin of the fire and whether it started in one car and spread to the others or if each car ignited separately.
It is too early to tell whether the fire was set intentionally, Otis said at the scene this morning. He said he expects to release more information before the end of the day.
Thetford Deputy Fire Chief Mariah Whitcomb said the fire in the parking lot along Route 113 was reported by a neighbor at 2:34 a.m. as a single car on fire, and was quickly upgraded to a call of three cars on fire.
Responders were on scene within 10 minutes and the tall flames on the fully engulfed vehicles were quickly extinguished, she said. She said she did not see any other people at the scene besides responders.
Interim Thetford Police Chief Doug Robinson estimated each vehicle at about $35,000.
A special Selectboard meeting has been scheduled for Saturday at 10 a.m. at Town Hall to discuss the cruiser fires and the officer shift schedule. The second agenda item was requested at a previous regular meeting.
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