TULSA — Fire marshals suspect arson in three weekend fires across eastern Oklahoma. No injuries were reported from any of the blazes.
Advertisement
•A school bus and van were burned in Milburn in southern Johnston County, while five other school vehicles nearby escaped serious damage in a fire that smoldered for 12 hours before being discovered.
•Fire is believed to have been used to hide a burglary of 350 collectors' item Hot Wheels toys in a Sunday morning fire in Ramona, in northern Washington County.
•Four gasoline cans were found at the scene of a late Saturday night fire that damaged a home about three miles east of downtown Tulsa.
The state fire marshal's office is investigating the Milburn and Ramona fires, said JoAnne Sellars, fire marshal spokeswoman. The Tulsa Fire Department is investigating that city's fire, said Larry Bowles, department spokesman.
John Holmes, superintendent of the Milburn School, said a 2001 van and a 1986 school bus used as a spare were destroyed in the fire that began about midnight and was not discovered until Sunday afternoon. Holmes estimated damage at $20,000.
An empty bay next to the damaged vehicles apparently kept the fire from spreading to the five other buses owned by the district, although one bus was damaged by heat.
One of the Ramona buildings housed an antique shop where the owner found that 350 Hot Wheels in plastic boxes or shrink-wrap were missing. Investigators think the fire was set to hide the thefts, Sellars said.
The public is asked to be aware of any large number of the toy vehicles and to notify the Oglesby Fire Department or Nowata Police Department.
Sellars said an early estimate of the damage for the other building and a trailer used for storage was $150,000.
Bowles said Tulsa fire marshals were interviewing neighbors to gather information about the house fire that was reported at 11:30 p.m. Saturday. Four gasoline cans were found inside the house, Bowles said.
0
