SalemNews.com, Salem, MA

Local News

Discussion

The Salem News has a real-name policy for commenting. Users may sign in using the Facebook Connect tool above the comments field. Once your first comment is posted by a moderator, all future comments will post automatically. If you prefer not to use Facebook, send an e-mail with your comments user name (which must be the same as your real name), city or town, street address and daytime phone number to comments@salemnews.com. A staff member will contact you directly to confirm your identity. It may take a day or two before you can post comments. Only your user name will be public. All users are required to follow our rules for commenting, which can be found here.

comments powered by Disqus
December 11, 2012

Two suspicious fires in Salem on Monday night

By Bethany Bray STAFF WRITER

SALEM — The Fire and Police departments are investigating two suspicious fires, one that ignited a vehicle and another that involved a Molotov cocktail-type device.

Fire personnel were called to the area of Salem’s Old Fashioned Candies, 93 Canal St., just before 8 p.m. Monday.

They found a small fire burning in a parking area, on the ground, that had not spread to any buildings, Deputy Chief Gerry Giunta said.

“On further investigation, I saw a bottle with a rag stuffed in it — a Molotov cocktail-type thing,” Giunta said.

The device was pretty much intact. Although ignited, it looked like it had been dropped and not thrown, he said.

At 10:15 p.m., firefighters were called to a car fire in a black Lincoln Aviator in front of 47 Washington Square North.

The fire had started in the back-seat interior of the Aviator, Giunta said. The vehicle was parked and locked, and the front driver’s-side window had been broken.

“It’s obviously suspicious in nature because of where the fire started,” he said.

A witness who called in the fire reported hearing a noise — possibly the window being broken — before noticing smoke in the vehicle, Giunta said. The Lincoln Aviator is registered to an out-of-town owner, he said.

Neither of Monday evening’s fires caused any injuries.

The fires don’t seem to be connected, Giunta said, because they’re different in nature.

The Canal Street fire did not cause any property damage, Giunta said. It was small enough that it burned out on its own.

Earlier on Monday afternoon, Salem firefighters extinguished a car fire in a Jeep Cherokee at the Salem Willows. The Jeep fire seemed to have been electrical and is not suspicious, Giunta said. The Jeep’s driver pulled over after noticing smoke coming from the vehicle’s vents around 3:20 p.m.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Local News

AP Video
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools $1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel? Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting Raw: School Bus Crash Injures Five Children Quick Response Saved Baby on Phila. Train Tracks One Million Evacuated As Cyclone Hits Bangladesh
Comments Tracker