Firefighters Trying To Find Who Is Responsible For Repeatedly Setting Tulsa Bridge On Fire

A near century old pedestrian bridge has been keeping firefighters in Tulsa extra busy in recent weeks after people keep setting fire to it.

"We're not going to accept people damaging property in the community," said Andy Little, spokesperson for the Tulsa Fire Department.

Little said they've responded to two big fires at the bridge near 41st Street North and Peoria since late January. The latest call was Wednesday morning.

"Both fires were heavily involved when crews arrived,” said Little.

Wednesday’s fire was so intense fire crews used 600 gallons of water and had to use a chainsaw to remove rotted wood.

City engineers inspected it the morning of February 20 and determined it's still structurally sound but warn more fires could destroy it.

"If there continues to be fires, there is a high likelihood that the damage will increase and it might be unusable,” said Little. “Then you're talking about a large project, demolition, rebuilding, and that's lots of tax dollars."

The bridge is popular with both pedestrians and bicyclists along the Osage Prairie Trail.

Investigators are not sure who's starting the fires or whether they're doing it maliciously.

Back in December, Tulsa police sent out a warning about a similar problem downtown. Homeless people were starting fires under a bridge near Greenwood and Archer.

Little doesn't know if it was a homeless person in this case but said everyone needs to be aware of the dangers of fires near bridges.

"Anytime fire makes contact with steel structural members, wood structural members and even concrete for extended periods of time, it's going to damage it,” said Little.

If you know who is starting these fires, call the Arson Hotline, 918-596-ARSN.