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FARMINGTON — Police officers on patrol spotted a brush fire that burned in a residential Farmington neighborhood at around 3 a.m. on Wednesday. Around the same time, three trash can fires occurred right down the street. Officials call the fires "suspicious."
“The worst was in this area right here and then up there,” said Adrian Newton. Her husband was awakened by the smell of smoke.
“He said that it smelled more like fire and we went outside,” Newton said.
Firefighters had already arrived. The fire had reached within 100 yards of their home.
“We were concerned because it was close to our house. That’s the scary part, too,” Newton said.
Firefighters put out the fire quickly.
“We're still investigating the exact ignition source, however, we do believe it was intentional at this time,” said Farmington Fire Chief Guido Smith. “Not only did someone set fire in three nearby trash cans this morning, this is the third time in six months that trash can fires were discovered at 3 a.m.”
All fires were within a block of the fire at the Newton residence.
Farmington police have joined the investigation. But they're not quite ready to call it arson.
“Right now, it's suspicious,” Smith said. “We're still trying to determine cause of ignition.”
None of the previous fires caused much damage, however, it’s still worrying for all in the community.
“We are a vulnerable community,” Smith said. “We are an urban interface community and our community members are concerned.”
And the fire chief is worried that the pattern of behavior could escalate as fire danger intensifies.
“This was a very, very dangerous scenario. Fortunately for us, it was close to a fire station,” Smith said.
Smith is asking everybody in the area to keep their eyes and ears open for any kind of suspicious activity even though it's happening in the middle of the night. He wants to make sure this situation does not get out of control.
Contributing: Xoel Cardenas
