THURSDAY—Firefighters responded to a call late Wednesday night for a house fire on the southern end of Rodwell Street. By the time they arrived the flames had already engulfed the building and collapsed part of the roof.
“I had never seen any fire quite that fierce,” recounts Thomas Froman, the lead firefighter on the scene. “There was no question that it was set deliberately. Must have put gasoline all over it for it to grow that fast.”
By the time the blazes were extinguished, the house was no more.
“At least we were able to prevent damage to other buildings,” says Samantha Yung, another firefighter from the scene. “I think we would’ve had to have been right around the corner to save the house in time. The blaze was unprecedented.”
The home belonged to Stephanie King, who lived there with her son, David King. Both were home at the time of the fire and are currently being treated at Newbury Hospital after suffering smoke inhalation and minor injuries. The investigation is ongoing with the primary suspect, Alexander Jones, currently in custody.
“The suspect left a voicemail on the phone of one of our detectives shortly before the fire,” reports police chief Melissa Stranton. “He claimed that he was going to ‘burn’ David, and assuming that the David in question is indeed David King, it seems too direct to be a coincidence.”
If you have any information that may be helpful to the investigation, please contact Emet’s Crossing Police Department.
