Liberty Drive Fire
Investigated As Possible Arson

Firefighters and police responded to a suspicious fire at this mobile home at 208 Liberty Drive Wednesday afternoon.                   Arab Today photo by Dwight Hayes

Arab Police Cpl. Shane Washburn and Arab Fire Captain Jerry Holmes (both kneeling) talk with homeowner Betty Joan Burgett about fire.  AFR Medic Keith Burrows (standing) treated Mrs. Burgett for anxiety.  Arab Today photo by Dwight Hayes

May 28, 2009  - By Dwight Hayes
A mobile home fire at 208 Liberty Drive Wednesday afternoon has been termed suspicious and is being investigated by Arab Police and Fire Departments.  No one was at home at the time of the fire although the first call to Marshall County 911 indicated that someone might be trapped inside the home.  The fire was confined to a bedroom of the home.

Police say the rear door to the mobile home appeared to have been pried open and a Coleman fuel can was found under a bed in the bedroom where the fire started.  A lighter was reportedly found just outside the bedroom door.

The homeowner, Mrs. Betty Joan Burgett, returned home to find heavy smoke billowing from the mobile home.  Thinking that her son, Christopher Heath Burgett, was in the home, she reported the possible entrapment.  Arab Firefighter Jason Brannon, first on the scene, entered the home and determined that the home was empty.  Christopher was located later with a friend.  Mrs. Burgett, who suffers from high blood pressure, required treatment at the scene for anxiety caused by the fire.

Investigators from the Arab Fire and Arab Police Departments removed evidence from the home.  The investigation is ongoing.