Portable toilet set ablaze; case squad deactivating

In addition to a full-scale arson investigation involving state, local and federal authorities in response to Tuesday's fatal fire at 203 S. Pacific St., Cape Girardeau police are looking into another fire that occurred Friday.

Police responded to the call of a portable toilet on fire around 5:20 a.m. at the skate park on Fountain Street, said Cpl. Jason Selzer, spokesman for the police department.

The fire was probably set and is likely linked to a series of flaming portable toilets that plagued Cape Girardeau earlier this year, Selzer said.

In January, police began investigating the burning of several At Your Service portable toilets in Arena Park, but there were no suspects.

A religious symbol set into the landscape at Westminster Presbyterian Church on Perryville Road was also lit ablaze Jan. 18, believed to be connected to the toilet fires. The church reported damage to the landscape lighting and a garden hose along with the fire.

Meanwhile, investigators from the Cape Girardeau-Bollinger Major Case Squad, which spent the past four days interviewing witnesses in Tuesday's three suspicious fires, including one that killed 42-year-old George E. Robinson, will return to their respective agencies Saturday, Selzer said.

Robinson, a tenant in the building, died as a result of smoke inhalation.

The case squad worked the leads in the fire investigation down to a manageable level, and the arson task force, state fire marshal's office and Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms will continue to pursue the case, Selzer said.

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department responded to the Pacific Street fire around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday. As they battled that blaze throughout the night, two additional fires were reported, one at 511 S. Ellis St. and one at 1015 Bloomfield St. Neither of those fires involved injuries, but the building on Bloomfield Street was occupied at the time.

In addition, investigators determined this week that two fires that occurred April 24 and 25 on Middle and Frederick streets had been intentionally set.

There have been nine suspicious fires in Cape Girardeau this year.

Police have not yet narrowed the investigation down to a single suspect or group of people, Selzer said.

Anyone with information regarding the fires is encouraged to call the state arson hot line at 800-392-7766, CrimeStoppers at 332-0500 or the Cape Girardeau police. A reward of up to $6,000 is available for information leading to an arrest and a conviction.

bdicosmo@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 245