GREENWOOD — A man believed to be homeless has been arrested for three counts of arson after a series of "suspicious" apartment fires in Greenwood Thursday morning, police said.
According to Brad Coy, Assistant Fire Chief, the first incident occurred around 8:01 a.m. in the 800 block of Parliament Place, where firefighters responded to a structure fire with reported entrapment.
Crews successfully rescued individuals from balconies, and fortunately, there were no injuries. The State Fire Marshal is currently investigating the cause of this fire.
Shortly after, at around 8:25 a.m., another fire was reported in the 900 block of Kings Mill Road. This fire was smaller in scale, and crews were able to extinguish it quickly, again with no injuries reported. Similar to the previous fire, the State Fire Marshal is involved in the investigation.
The final fire occurred in the 700 block of Wood Dale Terrace around 8:33 a.m., characterized as significant and requiring additional rescues from balconies. Both the State Fire Marshal and local law enforcement are also looking into this incident.
It was apparent to investigators that these fires were intentionally started and that the same person likely set all three fires.
During an investigation, a suspect was identified by video cameras in the area. At approximately 11:43 a.m., a person matching the exact description of the suspect was located sitting in the Greenwood Public Library located at 310 S. Madison Avenue.
The male suspect was then taken into custody and later arrested. Police believe the 50-year-old suspect is homeless.
He was taken to the Johnson County Jail and is being initially arrested on three counts of Level 4 Arson.
