Reward offered for information leading to arrest in arson case

by Thomas D. Mooney, entertainment editor

 

The Agriculture Building recently on the Levelland campus had a scare when there was indeed some “Smokin’ in the Boys Room.”

A small fire was set in the men’s restroom by an unknown person who started the blaze, presumably, with a lighter of some sort.

Currently, there is a reward or $1,750 being offered for information that leads to the arrest of the person(s) responsible for this fire incident.           

The fire was called in to the Levelland Police Department around 5:19 p.m. on Sept. 28, moments after it was discovered by students. SPC Police Officer Toni Hinson was the first authority on scene. When she arrived, the fire had already been extinguished by students who had splashed water from the sink onto it.

“It was pretty clear that the fire wasn’t accidental,” said Jay McKay, an assistant fire marshal for the Levelland Fire Department.

Professors and instructors had already evacuated

that part of the building as Hinson

and Hockley County Sheriff’s Deputy Jeff Farris

entered the building.

 

“As Deputy Farris and I went in to check for

hotspots and to ensure that the fire wasn’t still

going,” said Hinson, “dispatchers contacted the

Levelland Fire Department to meet us out there.”

When McKay arrived, he did a thorough search of the entire building and began investigating the arson attempt.

“Shortly after that, we began interviewing all the students who were still in the building,” said Hinson, “asking what they had seen, what they had done, who had left the room to go to the bathroom, those kind of things.”

Both the police and fire departments were at the Agriculture Building for more than two hours that first night. The police and fire department investigators continued interviewing students and faculty during the next several days.

“A couple of the SPC instructors were a great help at retaining students and helping us get in contact with others that were in the building at the time of the fire,” says McKay.

“We’ve been called out to SPC a few other times, but since this is an arson case, it worries us a little more, since this was intentional after all,” says McKay.

“Until we get someone in here to do a full inspection on the ventilation system, they won’t know the full amount of damages that the fire caused.”

The known damages that the fire caused include a broken mirror and sink, as well as soot and smoke damage to parts of the ceiling and walls.

The fire was able to be put out before it spread to any other rooms in the Agriculture Building or the Math/Engineering Building, which are connected by a hall.

SPC officials have declined to comment on the fire until all law enforcement authorities have finished with their investigations. 

Also called to the scene were state fire marshals, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives agents, and arson investigators. All agencies are still in the process of investigating the fire and have a few leads, but no arrests have been made.

“We do have a few people that are considered suspects, but we still don’t have enough,” says Hinson.

All enforcement agencies are positive about finding the arsonist.

“Despite all the statements and interviews conducted, we still are waiting for that one person to come forward that has information that breaks the case open and leads us to a solid case,” says an optimistic McKay.

Both McKay and Hinson stress that if anyone who has any vital information on the case who hasn’t talked with the police or fire department to come forward.

“We are really lucky that the fire wasn’t started midday, or in a building that had been more populated with students,” says McKay.

The damaged bathroom was closed down for a little more than a week while repairs were being made by SPC’s Maintenance Department and reopened for use on Oct. 6.

Any information on the incident can be reported to the Texas Arson Hotline at (877) 434-7345, the SPC Police at (806) 716-2396, or Dean Conner’s office at (806) 716-2380. Confidentiality is guaranteed.