Arson

On Wednesday, March 3, 2010, Ptlm. E. Gibbons of the Martinsburg Police Department responded to Servpro, at 717 West Virginia Avenue, Martinsburg WV in reference to an alarm. Initially Ptlm. Gibbons was dispatched to the business in regards to an office motion alarm but he soon located smoke and fire coming from the base of an exterior door.

At that point, the Martinsburg Fire Department was contacted to respond to the business. The MFD arrived and quickly extinguished the fire which caused damage to the door and immediate area. It was also determined that no one was present in the building during the time of the fire.

Video footage was also obtained from Servpro which showed an unknown person wearing a white sheet and having a light colored hat, coming to the door at approximately 2:57am and igniting a fire through the mail slot.

The cause of the fire was determined to be Arson and is being investigated by the Martinsburg Police Department and the Martinsburg Fire Department. Anyone with information regarding this incident is urged to contact either Det. S.F. Doyle or Det. Lt. G.B. Swartwood at 304-264-2100.