8 fires reported in
Andrews, Marble
Andrews – Six weeks after a mobile home on Sunland Drive burst into flames, scrap metal thieves continue to pick apart the property.
“I figured if I could get anything out of this, it would be from scrapping it; but they’re beating me to it,” 39-year-old Ricky Hardin told the Cherokee Scout during a tour of the fire site last week. “People are still coming in and taking copper, and stealing stuff out of this back room. It’s unbelievable.”
The blaze that destroyed Hardin’s property is one of eight reported residential fires to occur in Andrews and Marble so far this year. Law enforcement officials have officially classified this case as a suspected arson; however, that’s only part of the story.
“It’s possible that squatters were actually making dope back here and had an accident that started the fire,” Hardin said.
At the time of the fire, Hardin was living with his parents. He allowed someone else to stay in his home after struggling to keep vagrants off the property.
“I moved out and started helping my parents because my dad was sick,” Hardin said. “People would break in here constantly. If they had asked me, I would’ve let them stay. But I could not keep people out. They stole what I had, and it just got worse and worse. I finally just gave up and said, ‘To hell with it.’ ”
Around 8 a.m. Jan. 13, Hardin was smoking a cigarette on the porch of his parents’ house nearby when a neighbor pointed out that his mobile home was on fire.
“The drug police were here all day, even more than the firefighters,” Hardin said. “Police came back and told me that it possibly involved the people who were squatting, and that it was arson because they found an accelerant. I think the squatters had an accident while making drugs and were trying to cover up how the fire started; that’s what makes sense to me. They have someone on camera setting the fire.”
He said missing evidence from the blaze further fuels speculation that a drug accident sparked the initial fire.
“Someone has come back to take out stuff that may have implicated them in the fire,” Hardin said. “But I’m sure police took photos when they came out that day, so it’s already on record.”
Law enforcement officials are also investigating at least five other cases of suspected arson that have occurred since the first of the year. One of those fires destroyed an iconic house in the 6000 block of Airport Road on the evening of Feb. 5. The very next night, another blaze damaged a property about 600 feet away from the police department on Main Street downtown.
Police would not comment on whether the Sunland Drive fire is connected to the other suspected arsons. However, officials believe at least some of the fires were caused by the same person or group of people.
“We’ve only had one confirmed arson within the city limits, and myself and the sheriff’s office have contacted the State Bureau of Investigation,” Andrews Police Chief Michael Hobgood said. “I think we have some serial arsonists because they’re burning abandoned homes in the county as well as the city.”