Police are investigating a suspicious fire at a historical home
on Fifth Street in which a flag was burned the day after Flag
Day.
Gilroy – Police are investigating a suspicious fire at a historical home on Fifth Street in which a flag was burned the day after Flag Day.
A passerby noticed a small fire burning on the porch of a home on the 300 block of Fifth Street about 10:30pm Thursday and grabbed a garden hose to douse the flames. He called Gilroy Fire Department upon noticing charred scraps of an American flag on the ground.
A woman in her 50s was inside sleeping when emergency personnel arrived to investigate. She told police that she had recently had a dispute with a contractor, however, police are uncertain whether the two are related.
“This is a really strange call,” said Gilroy police Sgt. John Sheedy. “I can’t remember the last time we responded to a flag burning … It’s also unusual because the flag was attached to the home.”
Firefighters discovered plants on the front steps were burnt as well. They did not find any gasoline, matches or other accelerators at the scene. A cigarette was found in a separate location on the porch.
“It’s kind of hard to tell what happened exactly,” said Firefighter/Paramedic Heinz Maibaum.
They are looking into the possibility that someone put out a cigarette in the potting soil, but the ashes lit the plant on fire and spread to the flag.
“She was pretty shaken up about it,” Maibaum said of the homeowner. “It’s kind of unsettling – was someone targeting her, or just messing around with the flag? The danger was that she was home sleeping.”
Police are labeling the incident arson. There are no suspects at this time.
Anyone with information about the incident may call police at 846-0350.
