Homeowner loses everything in suspected arson

Police and fire officials are investigating a case of arson in the Old Capital. It occurred shortly before dawn today when the wooden home of twenty-nine year old Sylvia August went up in flames after a man allegedly set the home on fire.  His identity is not known, but neighbours saw when he fled the scene. The house and its contents were completed destroyed in the inferno. August and her mother were not inside the home when the fire started. News Five spoke with Training Officer of the National Fire Service, Kenneth Mortis, who says that the department responded to the fire sometime around three-thirty this morning.

Kenneth Mortis, Training Officer, Nat’l Fire Service

“We got the call about three-thirty more or less for a structure on the Mahogany or Lake Independence area. On our arrival, we found what is a bungalow structure three feet off the ground, fully engulfed in flames. After we extinguished the fire, we learned that the house which measured approximately twenty by thirty was owned by Ms. Sylvia August. Reports are that neither Ms. August nor her mother were at home at the time the fire started. Miss August was sleeping with a friend a couple houses up while her mother was at work. On the scene we found what appeared to have been a bottle with the remains of a flammable liquid. This bottle was in turn handed over to the police for further specific detailing of the substance. We have been informed by both the neighbors and members of the Police Department that this is third attempt to burn down this particular house. One attempt was made in December of last year, late last month and then this one was a success. She lost everything. The building was estimated at ten thousand dollars and the contents were estimated at six thousand dollars. Unfortunately for her neither were insured.”