By ANDREA POTEET
Sunday Times Newspapers
ALLEN PARK – A car fire at Cabrini High School March 10 may have been arson, Fire Chief Douglas LaFond said.
About 5 a.m. that day the fire department responded to the high school’s parking lot, empty except for a single flaming car.
The fire took only a few minutes to put out, LaFond said, but the department immediately suspected arson.
LaFond said no one was around the vehicle, unusual for a car fire.
“Usually, we show up and with mechanical issues, the owner’s standing there,” he said. “There was no one around.”
The school’s surveillance cameras caught two or more people pulling the vehicle into the parking lot and leaving, shortly before it burst into flames.
LaFond said he does not think the people owned the car. Deputy Fire Chief David Servetter said it is unknown whether the car was reported stolen.
It is unknown what started the fire, LaFond said. The fire began in the passenger’s side of the car, which also led the department to suspect arson. Most mechanical fires start under the hood, he said.
“There was very little damage under the hood,” LaFond said. “It was mostly in the interior of the car.”
Samples from the car are being sent to the State Police crime lab.