No injuries have been reported after a fire spread from a junk vehicle to an unoccupied warehouse on 3rd Ave. in Bethel at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12.
Bethel Public Safety Director Jeffrey Kirkham said that responders found the vehicle fully engulfed and were able to put out the fire in about 20 minutes. A separate fire in the adjacent warehouse building was contained within the building’s insulation.
As of Saturday, responders hadn’t confirmed ownership of the building, located near the Watson’s Corner intersection. Kirkham said that he’s initiating a formal process for cleaning up the property because there are multiple fire hazards there.
“Because of the numerous junk vehicles surrounding it, that’s gonna be submitted for abatement,” Kirkham said.
The City of Bethel is currently pursuing nuisance abatement actions against four properties for issues including junk vehicles, piles of trash, and raw sewage discharge.
Kirkham said that police officers suspect the fire may have been intentional, but that there weren’t any immediate leads as of Saturday afternoon.
