Is it a random act of violence or is the Islamic community in Dalton the target of a hate crime? That's what investigators are trying to figure out after a fire destroys part of what will become a new place of worship for Muslims. Early Christmas morning fire tears through a three-bedroom house that's on the Dug Gap Road site where the new Dalton Islamic Center is being built.
Hammad El-Ameen, President of the Dalton Islamic Center, said "it's devastating because it's a security factor, we're concerned for our families, our children. So we want to set a precedent right now and find out and prosecute who did this." Whitfield County Fire Chief Carl Collins says the fire damage is concentrated inside what was the attic and spread from a back bedroom to the rest of the $100,000 building.
Even though Chief Collins says he has his suspicions this fire was deliberately set he says his investigators still haven't found any evidence, right now at least, that an accelerant was used, like gasoline or kerosene. "We're still looking into some different things. It is suspicious in the fact there was no power on it," Chief Collins said.
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http://www.newschannel9.com/news/fire_965390___article.html/islamic_chief.html
Suspicious substance in Charlestown remains unidentified (Rhode Island)
1/1/08
CHARLESTOWN — A suspected toxic substance that sent four people to the hospital Sunday tested “inconclusive,” Charlestown police said yesterday, citing findings from a test conducted by the state Department of Environmental Management. “The sample that they were able to retrieve from the scene may have been diluted by rainwater,” Lt. Patrick J. McMahon said.
Michael Sweeney, chief of investigations with the state fire marshal’s office, said paper towels found in the glass jar that contained the substance will be tested this week at the State Crime Laboratory at the University of Rhode Island. “We don’t even know if we have a crime at this point,” said Sweeney. “It appears to be a Molotov cocktail.” Molotov cocktails are makeshift bombs made of a breakable container filled with flammable liquid, typically with a fuel-soaked rag in its top that is ignited and hurled.
Tracy Ready, of 4371 Old Post Rd., called 911 around 9:40 Sunday night after she came in contact with an unknown substance on her hands. Charlestown police said Ready shattered the container as she was backing up in her driveway. Ready, who somehow touched the liquid, complained of a burning sensation on her hands, according to Sweeney.
Charlestown police, fire and EMS (Emergency Medical Services) parked away from the area, approaching the house cautiously on foot. Still, Patrolman Philip Gingerella and his younger brother Peter Gingerella, a reserve police officer, “were both overcome by low lying toxic fumes coming from the property,” according to a statement released by the police. The police closed to traffic the 4700 block of Old Post Road — where the town’s police and rescue headquarters, Ninigret Park and the Arnolda neighborhood are located — from 9:45 p.m. to just after midnight.
HAZMAT teams were called to investigate while the Westerly Fire Department established a decontamination area at Route 1 and Old Post Road, near the South Shore Mental Health Center. The two officers, Ready, and a friend of hers, Calbert Edwards, who was also exposed to the substance, were decontaminated and then taken to South County Hospital. All four were treated and released, McMahon said, noting they mostly showed symptoms of hypothermia due to the wintry temperatures. The incident remains under investigation.
http://www.projo.com/ri/charlestown/content/CHARLESTOWN_SPILL01_01-01-08_8E8EMVI_v33.26feab0.html
"... his investigators still haven't found any evidence, right now at least, that an accelerant was used..."
Unfortunately...no updates on that substance.