GORHAM — Investigators went door-to-door through Gorham neighborhoods today in a search for leads into who has been setting fires in town.
Authorities say a fire Wednesday night at a house that was recently built on Dingley Spring Road was another in a string of arson fires this month in a a northwest section of Gorham. There have been five suspicious fires in just over two weeks,
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Investigators with the State Fire Marshal’s Office and Gorham police and firefighters canvassed neighborhoods, distributing fliers about what to look for and how to contact authorities.
Steve McCausland, spokesman for the state Fire Marshal’s Office, said today that it will most likely be an observation by someone in the public that puts authorities on the trail of the arsonist.
The fire at 56 Dingley Spring Road was set in a rear wall of the house, McCausland said. It was reported around 8:40 p.m.
Firefighters responded quickly and prevented the blaze from causing extensive damage. But, McCausland said, “It is arson and there is no doubt that it is related to the other arson fires.”
Like the other buildings in north Gorham where fires have been set, the recently built house was unoccupied.
McCausland said it will take an alert resident to catch the arsonist. “Gorham residents need to be extra vigilant,” he said.
An earlier fire in Gorham, before daybreak Wednesday, was feared to be an arson fire. But by the end of the day, the fire at 294 County Road was believed to be accidental.
Sgt. Joel Davis of the state Fire Marshal’s Office, who is overseeing the arson investigation, said it initially appeared that the house hadn’t been lived in for some time, suggesting a similarity to the arson fires.
Investigators had difficulty finding the owner. When they did, they learned that he had been staying elsewhere. But he had been at the house late Tuesday, working on an electric heater. Investigators believe that heater was the source of the fire.
Of the five suspicious fires in the past two weeks, four have been confirmed as arson. The one that has yet to be classified burned a garage on Buck Street to the ground on Easter Sunday.
Three of the buildings where fires were set were vacant. The other was a seldom-used meeting hall for the local snowmobile club.
Wednesday morning’s fire on County Road, in southern Gorham, near the Scarborough line, made state investigators and Gorham police fear that the arsonist was ranging farther afield.
The anxiety that caused for residents showed that the fires are taking a toll on the community.
“It’s kind of scary,” said George Mallock, who lives in the neighborhood. He said he was told by a neighbor that the house had been set on fire, and he worried that the arsonist was striking in his part of the town.
“That’s an eye-opener for us, knowing it can happen here,” Mallock said, before it was clear that the fire was accidental.
Kelly Atwood woke at 2:30 a.m. Wednesday to the red glow of emergency lights illuminating her bedroom, across the street from the fire. Between the fire engines and police cruisers, she estimated that there were 20 vehicles and 30 firefighters.
Immediately, she thought of the arsons.
“It makes people concerned,” she said. “These are our homes. This is our life.
“I hope they catch whoever it is,” she said.
Members of the Gorham police and fire departments met with fire marshal’s investigators Wednesday afternoon to review the investigation and plan their next steps.
Investigators are using standard tactics to identify a suspect. They are checking to determine whether anyone previously linked to arson has been released on probation to the area recently or might have moved there.
They also look for any firefighters who may have been fired recently.
Phillip Caron, a former Westbrook firefighter, served time in prison after his conviction in 2005 for a series of arson fires. Following another conviction after his release, Caron is back in state prison; his earliest release date is in 2023.
Investigators also are analyzing the victims, the location and the timing of the fires, looking for patterns and connections that might provide clues.
One challenge is that there are variations in the pattern.
The first fire, at 70 Spiller Road, occurred at 11 a.m. on a Tuesday. The next occurred on nearby Mighty Street at 1:30 a.m. on a Saturday. The third occurred on Great Falls Road at 6:50 a.m. on a Sunday, and the last occurred at 215 Buck St. at 4:30 p.m. on a Sunday.
The four sites, and the site of Wednesday night’s fire, are clustered within 3½ miles.
Authorities urged residents to be on the lookout for any suspicious activity, and to report it at 839-5581.
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