North Georgia officials believe serial arsonist responsible for fires in Lafayette

July 05--LaFayette, Ga., officials have asked a task force to look into a potential serial arsonist after five building fires in three months.

Using a stack of old papers and trash, someone ignited a fire inside an abandoned lawyer's office at 205 W. Villanow St. around 11 p.m. Tuesday, said Stacey Meeks, the city's director of fire services and emergency management. A woman driving by noticed smoke and called 911. The city's public safety office is about one-third of a mile away, and firefighters were on scene within minutes.

They saved the building, Meeks said, though the fire damaged one room and part of the attic.

"Our officers did a great job," Meeks said. "They were on scene and got on it really quick. It could have gotten a lot worse."

This is the fifth building fire in LaFayette in the last three months. Three were in abandoned houses. Two were in businesses. All were in the downtown district, within about a half-mile of each other.

Meeks said members of LaFayette Police, LaFayette Fire, the Georgia Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are looking into the case as a task force.

The first fire occurred at midnight on April 26 at 207 Farris St., about a block south of the Walker County Courthouse. The next fire broke out around 12:50 a.m. May 3 at 300 Simmons St., which is about a half-mile northwest of the first fire.

The third took place around 1:30 a.m. on May 26 at 211 E. Villanow St. The fourth fire occurred on June 21 around midnight at the Hammond-Jones Hardware store, located at 110 N. Main St.

The person responsible for the first four fires used some sort of petroleum-based accelerant, like kerosene, diesel fuel or lighter fluid. The Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner's Office uses a dog trained to detect these kind of chemicals.

Ava, a black Labrador, sniffs around the building and sits down when she smells the accelerant. Her handler will then take samples from that area and test them to confirm the chemicals used.

"You will usually find a burn pattern," said Glenn Allen, a spokesman for the Insurance and Fire Safety Commissioner's Office.

Tuesday's fire, however, did not include the petroleum-based accelerant. Whoever started the fire relied on old paper, Meeks said.

He's not sure why an arsonist would start these fires.

"There's no telling," he said. "It could be a whole host of motivational factors."

The fire Tuesday occurred at the former law office of William Davis Hentz. The Bank of LaFayette foreclosed on it in September.

Anyone with information on these fires can contact the Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner at 800-282-5804. The agency is offering a reward of up to $10,000.

Contact staff writer Tyler Jett at 423-757-6476 to tjett@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @LetsJett.

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