Concord fire ruled arson

A house fire that occurred June 3 at 710 Concord Rd. has been determined to be arson by the state fire marshall. Glenn Allen of the Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioners’ office confirmed that the cause of the Concord fire was arson and said a reward is being offered for help finding the person or persons responsible. ’Insurance and fire safety commissioner Ralph Hudgens is offering a reward for information on the fire,’ he said. ‘He is asking for the public’s help in this investigation and offering a reward of up to $10,000.’Anyone with information can call 1-800-282-5804.According to Pike County fire chief Randy Snyder, the June 3 fire was contained to one room but there was smoke damage throughout the house. Chief Snyder said there are two arson investigators on staff for Pike County Emergency Services. ’Every fire is investigated for cause. If we notice something and need more information, we call in the state fire marshall,’ he said. ‘Due to findings on scene, we opted to have the state fire marshall come in and conduct the investigation.’There have been several fires at the residence in the past, including one in 2011. According to Allen, the state’s investigation of the fire at the Concord Road residence took place a few days after the incident. ’Not every fire is investigated by us but sometimes fire investigations are referred to us by the local fire or police departments,’ he said. ‘Pike did ask for us to come out and investigate. The key right now is that the fire was intentionally set.’ Firefighters cut a hole in the roof of the house to douse the flames in the attic during their response to the June 3 fire at the residence. Sheriff Jimmy Thomas said the father feared someone was in the home because a blue car was parked out back. Firefighters searched the home but no one was found inside. The family members were later located at the park in Concord.