Riverdale Firefighters Suspended In Probe

A handful of volunteer firefighters in Riverdale has been suspended in connection with an investigation into six fires that have been deliberately set in vacant houses in Prince George's County during the last two months, a source with knowledge of the probe said yesterday.

The firefighters were suspended within the past week, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

A man who answered at the Riverdale Volunteer Fire Department station in Riverdale Park said no one was available to comment. He said he would relay a message seeking comment to the volunteer fire department's chief, who did not respond.

The first of the suspicious fires was set Feb. 14 and the most recent was set March 29, said Mark Brady, chief spokesman for the Prince George's County Fire Department.

The fires were set in different neighborhoods, including Riverdale, Beltsville, Bladensburg, Chapel Oaks and Fort Washington, Brady said. No one has been injured in the fires, he said.

Some of the homes were for sale and others were slated for demolition, Brady said. The amount of property damage in the fires ranges from zero, in the case of homes scheduled for demolition, to $200,000, Brady said.

He said the investigation was launched about three weeks ago after fire investigators noticed a possible pattern of vacant homes being set on fire. No one has been charged and no one has been identified as a suspect, Brady said.

The probe is being conducted by the county fire department's arson investigators, who have police powers, Brady said.

"They may all be related. They may not all be attributable to one person or group of people," Brady said. "This is an active and ongoing investigation. At this point in the investigation, nothing has been ruled out."