Prince George’s County fire investigators have declared four of 11 recent fires at the Springhill Lake Complex in Greenbelt to be arson and three others as “suspicious,” according to fire spokesman Mark Brady.
“We have increased patrols in that area, and we are of course working with management,” Greenbelt police spokesman George Mathews said. “…We are talking about [the safety of] individuals in these apartments, and they are in danger when we have this type of activity.”
According to Brady, the arson fires occurred between April 4 and April 16.
“I’d estimate that no one incident caused more than $2,500 in damage,” Brady said. “And the majority of that was caused by firefighters having to access the walls.”
In late March, four electrical fires at the complex destroyed six buildings and displaced about 200 people. Following the first three fires, which caused the most damage, power was shut down in the 2,877-unit complex and thousands were left without electricity.
All 11 of the fires, including those fire investigators declared electrical, occurred in the same area of the complex, Brady said.
The fires also all began in laundry/storage rooms in the basements of the apartment buildings.
Investigators have deemed the fires they didn’t declare arson or electrical in origin suspicious because it was too late to go back and officially investigate them after they were extinguished, Brady said.
“Firefighters did not initially realize they were responding to set fires until they started responding to fires of similar nature,” Brady said.
Anyone with information about the incidents should contact Prince George’s fire investigators at 301-77-ARSON.
Anyone who provides information leading to an arrest and conviction in the cases are eligible for up to a $5,000 reward.
