1800 feet of hose needed to reach suspicious house fire… swastikas and satanic symbols found [Video]
Marstons Mills – Just after 7pm, two Barnstable fire companies and police responded to a suspicious house fire in a secluded wooded area behind a duck pond.
According to Captain Rhude of the Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills Fire Department, they received several 911 calls from vehicles driving along Route 149, reporting a structure fire on the opposite side of Marstons Mills Pond, located near the intersection with Route 28.
According to firefighters, the first obstacle to overcome was the need to run approximately 1600 to 1800 feet of fire hose to reach the abandoned cottage located at the end of a long muddy dirt road.
Once hoses were laid out and fully charged, COMM FD, with the assistance of Cotuit FD, quickly battled and knocked down the blaze which had already completely gutted the vacant home.
During the height of the blaze, the building was said to be 90% involved…
One firefighter thought it was suspicious based merely on the fact that it was an abandoned property and there was no running electrical service to the building. In fact, firefighters observed power lines to the dwelling had been cut.
The property appeared run down, littered with scrap metal and wood debris…
Adding to the mystery, a construction trailer just steps away from the fire was covered with troubling graffiti, including swastikas and satanic symbols…
According to sources, the owner of the property had begun clean up efforts in recent months. Just over 2 months ago the property was reportedly much more congested with debris…
One source stated there had been evidence of graffiti as early as two months ago…
It’s still uncertain who painted the swastikas and satanic symbols… or for how long the malicious vandalism had been taking place.
It’s still also uncertain whether or not tonight’s fire that completely destroyed the pond side dwelling was intentionally set or not…
The incident remains under investigation by members of the Barnstable Police Department and fire officials.
The following footage shows the isolated and secluded scene, as well as the distance firefighters had to run hose and rush to fight this fire… [Press play]
Hyannis News will provide updates as they become available.
1/12/2014
Robert Bastille, HyannisNews.com