Document text
Arson blamed for fires at portable toilet, shed An apparent firebug torched a portable toilet on East Jackson Street on Sunday, causing $2,000 damage to a nearby home, and then touched off another blaze while firefighters mopped up the first. Medford Fire Department acting Battalion Chief Dave Heaton said there has been a rash of suspicious fires in the East Jackson Street area in recent weeks. "There seems to be kind of a pattern," he said. "It's been mostly Dumpsters and small things like that." Firefighters were called to the portable-toilet fire about 6:45 p.m. They found flames had scorched the side of the home at 712 E. Jackson St. and spread into the attic. About an hour later, firefighters noticed a glow and heavy smoke in an alley between Geneva and Stark streets, and discovered a 25-foot-by-15-foot detached shed engulfed in flames. Heaton placed the value of the destroyed shed at $500. Medford police are investigating both incidents, Heaton said, and urged East Jackson Street residents who see suspicious activity to report it to the police. Mail Tribune Copyright � interRogue & The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford, Oregon USA