Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

House Fire Under Suspicion

Fire of suspicious origin destroyed a home near Emmet Wednesday, Jan. 17.

Nevada County Sheriff Steve Otwell was notified about the fire around 3:00 Wednesday morning, and by the time he arrived, the structure was all but gone.

He said when he got to the scene, the only thing left standing of the wood sided house were parts of two walls, and these collapsed shortly thereafter. By 3:30 a.m. the house was completely gone.

Firemen responding to the blaze could only watch as there was nothing for them to save. It was raining at the time, Otwell said, and there was no danger of the fire spreading.

Scott Clark, Arkansas State Police criminal investigator, was called in to help with the investigation.

Otwell said they found a "stinger" or burned trail leading up to the house where some type of fuel had been poured to get the fire started. In addition, Otwell said, they found a five-gallon gas can 15 or 20 feet from the northwest corner of the house.

The two left and came back when it was light to continue their probe and to take pictures of the scene.

Clark said one of the things making this more suspicious is Thursday, Jan. 11, less than a quarter mile from the burned house, a chicken house that had been used to store hay had burned under suspicious circumstances. "I don't know if the two are connected," Clark said.

The residence was owned by Johnny Davidson, who was in Houston, Texas, at the time. Otwell said there is little left to show whether the household items were inside, but suspected they were.

Along with the house burning down, a Harley Davidson motorcycle, a Pontiac Firebird, two trailers and an all-terrain vehicle were destroyed in the fire.

"We have no reason to suspect the house was anything but fully furnished," Otwell said.

"I have no problem saying this fire was intentionally set." There is no suspects as of yet.