November 14th, 2020 by WCBC Radio

Deputy State Fire Marshals in the Western Regional Office are seeking the public’s assistance in identifying persons of interest with the intentional burning of a 2007 Jeep in Cumberland.

Deputy State Fire Marshals are currently investigating two incidents in Allegany County.  On November 12, 2020 at 10:44 PM, 30 firefighters from the Bedford Road Volunteer Fire Department responded to 13507 Sentinel Lane, NE in Cumberland for a structure fire that a neighbor reported.  When firefighters arrived, they found a single family rancher style home on fire.  It took the firefighters 10 minutes to control the blaze which originated in a bedroom of the structure.  The Office of the State Fire Marshal was requested to conduct an origin and cause investigation of the fire. 

Deputy State Fire Marshals determined there was no electricity to the home and it was vacant at the time of the fire.  They identified Robin Hood Constitution as the owner of the home.  The home was not equipped with a sprinkler system and smoke alarms were found on the floor still in their original packaging (boxes).  One of the alarms did however properly operate at the time of the fire.

Deputy State Fire Marshals were able to narrow down a bedroom within the structure as to where the fire originated but were not able to determine an exact cause.

A short time after this fire was dispatched, a second fire was discovered by a passer-by in Cumberland.  At 10:48 PM, 5 firefighters from the Cumberland Fire Department were dispatched to a parking lot on Park Street in Cumberland for a vehicle fire.  Upon their arrival, they discovered the 2007 Jeep Patriot on fire.  The Office of the State Fire Marshal was again requested to conduct an origin and cause investigation of this incident. 

Further investigation revealed that the owner of the Jeep was Allen Lee Hall.  Investigators determined the fire originated on the front passenger seat of the vehicle.  The cause of the fire was determined to be incendiary (ARSON) after investigators were able to determine an accelerant was used and vapors ignited with an open flame device.  Investigators were able to gather video footage of three unknown individuals that were seen in the area of the vehicle prior to the fire.

If anyone can identify one or all of these individuals or saw them in the area before or after the fire, they are urged to contact Deputy State Fire Marshals at 301-729-5542.