Published: April 27, 2009 03:17 pm      

Possible arson? Fire marshal investigating rash of blazes

State fire marshals are investigating three homes that burned down in Blanchard Thursday night and any possible connections to fires that blazed through Grady County two weeks ago.

“All I can say at this time is that we are actively investigating these fires,” said State Fire Marshall Judah Sheppard.

But county Emergency Management Director Dale Thomposon said Friday he asked the marshals to look at fires that were considered “suspicious.”

“Arson hasn’t been ruled out yet, but we still have no official cause of the fires. I also asked the fire marshal to see about investigating the other fires that happened on (Apri 9) and two others that happened in Pocasset, because they were suspicious in nature also. Until it is deemed an accident, then arson is always a possibility.”

The Blanchard, Naples, Dibble, and Alex fire departments responded to the call at approximately 2:50 p.m. Thusday and battled the fires until after 7:00 p.m. when a sudden rain shower helped saturate the blaze.

Ron and Mary Stinson of Blanchard lost their home to blaze as well as a nearby mobile home that was not occupied. Also, an unoccupied mobile home owned by Dutton Clark was destrroyed.

On April 8, a nearby home owned by Chad and Jeannie Stinson burned after the homeowner was said to have left something frying on the stoveand surrounding field burned on April 9.

Those fires as well as the fires Thursday were within a few hundres yards of each other.

Fires fanned out of control by 60 miles an hour winds on April 9 consumed more than 270 homes in central Oklahoma and burned thousands of acres of grass land.