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Photo Pru Sowers
State Fire Marshal Stephen Coan met with Provincetown residents and selectmen Wednesday to ask for help in solving the arsons that have plagued the town since October. |
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Photo Pru Sowers
A crowd of about 40 people attended Wednesday’s public forum on 17 arsons that have plagued Provincetown since October.
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Arson forum: investigators seek residents’ help
Banner Daily Update Sat. Mar. 29
By Pru Sowers
Banner Staff
PROVINCETOWN — An arson task force has been assigned here full-time in an attempt to catch the person or persons responsible for setting 17 fires since October, according to state Fire Marshal Stephen Coan.
Coan and other fire investigators held a public forum in Provincetown Wednesday to plead for residents’ help in catching the arsonist. He and lead investigator Det. Lt. Frank Hart, a state police officer assigned to the fire marshal’s office, outlined a series of actions residents can take to help ensure the safety of their neighborhoods, including “window watches” and phone trees.
“The watchword to solving this investigation is communication. The break will come from within the community. We need you as our extra eyes and ears, “Hart told approximately 40 residents who packed the Judge Welsh hearing room in Town Hall Wednesday.
Coan said a full-time task force comprised of members from the Provincetown police and fire departments, the Barnstable County Sheriff’s Dept., state police assigned to Coan’s office, and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearm and Explosives has expanded its investigation into the string of arsons, which started up again on March 3, 4 and 5 after approximately a three-month hiatus.
“This is the task force devoting full-time services to Provincetown to deal with the problem at hand,” Coan said.
In addition, the federal ATF has doubled the reward for information leading to an arrest, from $5,000 to $10,000, Coan added. The arson hotline phone number is 800-682-9229.
Hart urged residents to become “nosy neighbors” to keep an eye on suspicious individuals or vehicles in their neighborhoods, as well as to keep an eye on vacant buildings in the area. The arsonist or arsonists have largely set fires in unoccupied buildings.
Hart said investigators have been exploring backyards and peering into windows for several days without anyone calling police to inquire about their presence.
“That’s disturbing,” he said about the lack of local concern over the strangers. “We’ve got to change that mindset.”
That may initially be difficult in a town where the motto is “live and let live.” However, because any evidence that might lead to an arrest is often destroyed in a fire, community vigilance may be the only way to stop the fires, Hart said.
“Do not confront people. Let the authorities do that. Write down as much descriptive information as you can: height, weight, hair color, clothing, any vehicle description,” he said, adding, “Anyone or anybody is a suspect.”
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Mar 27th, 2008