Authorities think Thursday morning’s house fire on South 15th Street might have resulted from arson.
According to a police report filed at the Arkadelphia Police Department by officer Jody Evans, APD received a 911 call Thursday at 4:28 a.m. by a person identifying herself as “Angela.” The complainant reported a fire on the 900 block of South 15th Street, and minutes later after firefighters and police arrived, they found the address to be 1416 Cutler St., at the South 15th Street intersection.
For two hours, firefighters battled the fire — and heavy rain — to extinguish the flames. After containing the blaze, Fire Chief Ricky Arnold requested that officers contact criminal investigators because of a suspected arson.
Sgt. Roy Bethell, criminal investigator, arrived at 6:21 a.m. and was told of three different areas inside the residence where separate fires originated, one of which was in a closet where only the floor and lower sections of the closet had burned.
A strong odor of accelerant was detected inside the residence, as well as burn patterns consistent with arson. Though the house did not burn down completely, Arnold said Thursday that it would most likely be “a total loss.”
The owner of the home, 28-year-old Isaac Perry, has since been contacted by police. Bethell said he is not a suspect “at this time.” No other suspects have been identified, he said.