Westbrook police and fire department are searching for leads in a series of car fires that occurred in the early hours of Feb. 8.
The fires are reminiscent of a series of unsolved crimes that took place last September.
In the early morning hours last Wednesday, three cars were broken into and set ablaze in the area of Westbrook Gardens. Later, a pile of trash was burned on Brown Street. After sunrise, a fourth car was found on Cottage Place that had been set on fire but did not burn. Two of the vehicles had been stolen and two entered and set on fire.
The immediate causes of the fires have not yet been determined, but the fire marshal’s office is examining evidence to determine how the fires were lit, according to Police Chief Paul McCarthy.
The crimes are reminiscent of events that happened last September, in which six cars were burgled and then set on fire. In those incidents, the glove boxes and insides of the cars were ransacked, then the contents placed on a seat and lit.
“Those cases are still open,” said McCarthy. “The incidents are similar but different. Police are searching for leads.”
The first incident was reported at around 1 a.m. last Wednesday morning, according to McCarthy. A woman on Central Street woke to her dog barking, and as she was getting out of bed, she heard a car door slam and squealing tires. She looked out her window and saw the glow of a fire in her car. She immediately grabbed a fire extinguisher and called 911.
At around 1:50 a.m. that morning, a witness on Prospect Street, who did not want to be identified, heard an explosion, looked out her window to see a pickup truck on fire and called 911.
“It seems like the vandalism is just getting worse in the last couple years. First they’re robbing them, and now they’re blowing them up.”
After the second fire, police began searching the area for other cars and found a third one on fire on Prospect Street. Upon investigation, police discovered that the vehicle had been stolen some time earlier in the evening from Puritan Drive.
At 3:30 a.m., police were notified about a fire on Brown Street, which turned out to be a propane tank on fire inside a pile of trash.
After sunrise, a resident on Cottage Place reported a suspicious vehicle parked in his yard. The officers who responded to the call discovered that a fire had been started inside the vehicle, but the fire had been oxygen-starved and gone out. Upon further investigation, police found that the vehicle had been stolen earlier from Westbrook Gardens.
“Two vehicles stolen, two entered and set on fire – don’t know if anything was stolen from the burned vehicles,” said McCarthy. “I have not seen a cause and origin report from the Fire Marshal.”
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