The Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office was investigating three separate fires Friday that happened during the early-morning hours in Norway.On Friday afternoon, officials said they made an arrest in connection to one of the fires.Investigators say the first fire was reported shortly before 2 a.m. at 69 Beal St. A second fire was then reported at 2:47 a.m. at 32 Alpine St.While a fire marshal investigator was responding to these incidents, the investigator discovered a third active fire at 27 Alpine St. The investigator immediately alerted the people who were asleep inside the two units in the building and helped rescue them from the second floor using a ladder.Those three locations are all within half-a-mile of each other.34-year-old Richard Hodge of Norway was arrested and charged with arson for the fire at 32 Alpine St.Hodge was also taken into custody on a probation-violation hold and taken to Oxford County, where bail is not permitted. Hodge is set to appear in court on Monday morning. Multiple investigators were at all three locations Friday afternoon.Anyone with information was asked to contact the Department of Public Safety in Augusta at 207-624-7076.The Oxford County Sheriff’s Office, Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office, Oxford Police Department, Paris Police Department, Norway Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were all involved in the investigations.This is the same area where a home burned in February. That fire on Beal Street burned a building that fire officials said was a popular spot for squatters.
The Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office was investigating three separate fires Friday that happened during the early-morning hours in Norway.
On Friday afternoon, officials said they made an arrest in connection to one of the fires.
Investigators say the first fire was reported shortly before 2 a.m. at 69 Beal St. A second fire was then reported at 2:47 a.m. at 32 Alpine St.
While a fire marshal investigator was responding to these incidents, the investigator discovered a third active fire at 27 Alpine St. The investigator immediately alerted the people who were asleep inside the two units in the building and helped rescue them from the second floor using a ladder.
Those three locations are all within half-a-mile of each other.
34-year-old Richard Hodge of Norway was arrested and charged with arson for the fire at 32 Alpine St.
Hodge was also taken into custody on a probation-violation hold and taken to Oxford County, where bail is not permitted. Hodge is set to appear in court on Monday morning.
Multiple investigators were at all three locations Friday afternoon.
Anyone with information was asked to contact the Department of Public Safety in Augusta at 207-624-7076.
The Oxford County Sheriff’s Office, Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office, Oxford Police Department, Paris Police Department, Norway Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were all involved in the investigations.
This is the same area where a home burned in February. That fire on Beal Street burned a building that fire officials said was a popular spot for squatters.