State leading investigation of recent arson attacks

MADISON COUNTY, TENN– The arson attacks began in Gibson county, then spread to Crockett County, and now, most recently, Northwest Madison County.

We were first notified of the arson attacks by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, who is requesting the help of the community in finding the individual or group of individuals responsible. We then met with Madison County Fire Chief Eric Turner about the arson attacks they have responded to recently.

“So, what we’re seeing is mailboxes. We’ve had several political signs, some utility boxes, phone pods where all the wires come in to a central location, things like that. Just things alongside the road so far thus far is what we’ve received,” said Chief Eric Turner.

Chief Turner says most likely the perpetrator is using some kind of fuel source or flammable material to initiate the fire. While the attacks may be on things that are small, they are still very dangerous.

“You know it’s pretty dry outside so if you set something on the side of the road on fire, and it doesn’t get noticed quick enough, a lot of times this is before daylight so there’s not a lot of traffic and we’re afraid these fires can get out of hand before we get notified of the situation,” said Chief Turner.

Chief Turner says there is a legitimate concern that the arsonist will move on to bigger targets, posing even more danger to the community.

“And the other portion of this that really bothers us is that we don’t know what this is going to grow into. You know, we don’t know if this is going to change and they’d be setting you know other things on fire or whatever the case may be,” said Chief Turner.

Officials are now asking for the public’s assistance in gathering information on identifying the arsonist or group of arsonists.

“What we want the public to do is if they see anything out of place, if they see a suspicious fire on the side of the road, please call it in. If you see a vehicle in that area, please call it in. No matter how small the clue may be, please call us so we can follow up on that and figure out what’s going on,” said Chief Tuner.

According to the TBI, the suspects have been seen driving a dark colored car. The TBI is offering a reward of up to five thousand dollars to whoever offers information about those responsible for the arson attacks. If you have any information that could assist in this investigation, you can call the Madison County Fire Department at 731-424-5577 or the Tennessee Arson Hotline at 1-800-762-3017.