Call to Texas Arson Hotline Nails Juveniles

A call into the Texas Arson Hotline resulted in four juveniles being cited for criminal mischief in Marfa, the Texas Advisory Council on Arson reported. The four allegedly participated in setting a bag of trash on fire on the front porch of a Marfa high school football coach on the evening of Oct. 23, 2006.

While the damage was minimal, the incident brought in law enforcement officers who placed Arson Hotline Reward signs at the Marfa High School. Within a week, a caller reported the involvement of the four young men. All four were taken in for questioning and cited.

As a result of the phone call, the informant was paid reward money by the Hotline. It’s the second incident this year where informants have called the hotline and suspected arsonists have been rounded up.

State Fire Marshal Paul Maldonado credits the Arson Hotline signs in solving these cases. “The Arson Hotline is starting to pay off in more ways than one,” Maldonado said. “The more investigators distribute these signs near the scene of arson fires, the more cases we will clear.”

The Arson Hotline number is 1-877-4-FIRE-45. The Arson Hotline is answered seven days a week, 24 hours a day and every caller remains anonymous. Calls that lead to legitimate arrests may result in a reward.

The Arson Hotline is funded through ATAC, A Texas Advisory Council on Arson. ATAC members include fire, police, industrial and insurance representatives who are concerned about arson in Texas.

Source: ATAC