Fire Destroys Excavator, Building Materials In Sand Springs; Arson Suspected

Fire investigators are looking for whoever set several fires in a large industrial area near the river in Sand Springs.

The arsonist set fire to some big containers, construction equipment, and other material, causing hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages. The fires were scattered throughout this large industrial area just near the Arkansas Riverbank in Sand Springs and now, all that is left of the heavy equipment is charred remains.

“It is going to be a high-value loss for this company," said Fire Chief Jeremy Wade. "You talk about backhoes, you're talking hundreds of thousands of dollars.”

The gravel area at the edge of 129th West Avenue is home to a lot of heavy equipment and Chief Jeremy Wade said someone set four different fires. Two large containers burned, along with this excavator and this huge pile of timber that burned for many hours.

“Some of the containers and piles of large timber they use for some processes were stacked and burning as well.”

Chief Wade said little fires at different points of origin like this make them think the fires were set on purpose.

“If you have multiple fires in different locations, we start thinking toward investigating arson," said Chief Wade.

Firefighters monitored the fires as they burned since they couldn’t get water out to put them fully out. He said it’s a senseless and expensive crime for a business that's just trying to make a living and now they want to catch whoever did this.

“Every little bit of information helps," said Chief Wade.

Fire investigators are looking at nearby surveillance cameras for clues. If you have any information that can help, call the Sand Springs fire department at 918-245-8777.