On Thursday, July 5, at around 11:30 p.m., residents of homes around the intersection of Crescent Road and Lakeside Drive thought they heard firecrackers. They didn’t find this very surprising given the recent July 4 celebrations and the tendency of firework noise to be randomly present for some days before and after the celebration.
A resident just across the street, however, happened to glance toward the sliding glass doors that face Crescent from her home and noticed that there was an intense and fluctuating light showing through the shades. Peeking behind the blinds, she discovered that flames were shooting two stories high from a
parked car across the street. She called out to her husband, who promptly called 911.
In short order, a fire truck and police cars responded and the blaze was rapidly extinguished. The residents were concerned that the flames were so high and intense that they might lead to a conflagration involving the trees and houses in the neighborhood. Fortunately, this was not the case. Later the vehicle (or the burned out shell that was left of it) was loaded onto a flatbed trailer and hauled away.
Verizon was sighted the next morning using a cherry-picker to examine the light pole next to the site of the fire, presumably checking out damage to pole wiring. Almost a week later, there are still ashes and cinders at the location.
Mark Brady, County Fire Department spokesman, reports that the fire department investigated the blaze and determined that the vehicle was deliberately set on fire. An individual has been arrested. The damage is estimated at $15,000.