Fire department, TBI investigating arson fires in Madison County
MADISON COUNTY, Tenn. — The Madison County Fire Department and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation are investigating three arson fires started at Brown’s Ruritan Community Center in Madison County this past Saturday.
“Around lunch time, we had a fireman on duty at Station 12 next door, and he noticed some guys around the building. Came to check it out, along with the sheriff’s department, and saw someone had set the back of the building on fire,” said Brian Kemp, the Fire Inspector for the Madison County Fire Department.
Kemp says at that moment, firefighters would’ve never guessed there were actually multiple fires started.
“So, while extinguishing that fire, they found two more fires inside the building. One of which was set while our fireman and sheriff’s department deputy was inside the building,” Kemp said.
Kemp says due to a person being inside the building, the offense is now a bigger crime. The arsonist could be charged with aggravated arson.
He says these reasons alone make it even more important to catch whoever would do something like this. He also says a motive is unknown.
“It has been here a long time. It was an old school, and it’s a community center now. It does good projects and stuff in the community. Why somebody would want to destroy it is still unknown, but we just need to find who did it,” Kemp said.
Kemp says it’s hard to tell who the person or persons was with limited description.
“One guy was wearing a black hoodie, and one guy was wearing a red hoodie. They ran across the back of the field and went to Browns Church Road, we’re assuming, and got in a truck or something and got away from us,” Kemp said.
There is an reward for anyone who knows who is responsible, courtesy of Tennessee Advisory Committee on Arson.
“A $5,000 reward that’s available to anyone who assists the arrest or conviction of the person that is responsible for setting the fire,” Kemp said.
If you know who was responsible for the fire, you can contact the Tennessee Arson Hotline at 1-800-762-3017.
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