Norfolk, VA—
For the last two mornings, and three mornings last week, residents of the Rotunda have been waking up in fear due to fires starting right in their building. Now, they have been ordered to leave their building for their own safety.
The first fire on January 25, started in a doorway. The second fire on January 27 started in a maintenance closet – and the third fire on January 28 started in a hallway.
The last two fires are still under investigation.
The first three fires have been ruled as arson. The FBI has started an investigation to catch the arsonist. A person who is charged with the crime of arson in Norfolk can be prosecuted through the court system and, if convicted, can be punished with fines, penalties, and/or imprisonment.
Fire Chief Harry Worley plans to take action to resolve these fires and catch the arsonist.
“We take that pretty seriously and we want to get this resolved and taken care of so these people can go back to their normal lives without these interruptions,” explained Chief Worley.
It is a very serious and scary situation when the authorities do not know the motive of the arsonist.
According to Fire Chief Harry Worley, “It’s very dangerous anytime you are dealing with fires when you don’t know what the intent is.”
With the intent of all five fires still unclear, the fire marshall has order residents to evacuate the building and stay elsewhere.
The Norfolk Fire Rescue mission is to “protect life, property, and the environment by providing public education, preventing and suppressing fires, mitigating hazards, and caring for the sick and injured.” With their vision always in their mind to prevent harm in the community while maintaining public trust, the Norfolk Fire Rescue has been working for the past weeks trying to keep residents of the Rotunda building safe.
