Monday’s fire at the Salvation Army thrift store was deliberately set, firefighters said today.
“There was a mattress there, just outside the building,” Emporia firefighter Eric Gilger said. “We believe they lit the mattress first and it spread to that storage shed out there.”
The mattress was doused with an accelerant of some kind, Gilger said, but the exact substance has yet to be determined. Gilger said a suspect in the arson had been interviewed, but the person proved to have no connection to the case.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call Crimestoppers at 342-2273.
Salvation Army Capt. Mark Haslett said this morning that he hadn’t yet heard about the arson report, but that it didn’t surprise him.
“We kind of suspected that,” he said. “But then you’ve got to figure out who did it. That’s the hard part.”
The fire burned a lean-to addition used as a drop-off site for clothing, household goods and other donations. The contents of the lean-to were destroyed but firefighters put out the fire before it could spread to the main building.
The store closed for two days following the fire, which Haslett estimated cost the Salvation Army at least $1,500. He said that insurance should be sufficient to rebuild, although it will not cover the value of the donations that were destroyed.
The thrift store should begin accepting donations again sometime next week, Haslett said.
“By the middle part of next week, I’d hope,” he added. “So we’re doing a little better than we thought we would.”