SPECIAL PRESS RELEASE 

FORT MADISON POLICE DEPARTMENT 

ATTEMPTED ARSON INVESTIGATION 

Sunday, January 22, 2023 

Shortly before 4:00 AM this date, The Fort Madison Fire Department was dispatched to a residential fire. Although initially given an incorrect location, a police officer located flames outside a house several blocks away in the 2800 block of Avenue O, and was able to extinguish it. No serious damage resulted, and the home remains occupied. 

Department arson-trained investigators were called in and are currently conducting interviews. An initial investigation revealed an accelerant was used at an outside corner of the residence, and that a secondary fire was located across the street to a neighbor's decorative yard ornament. Valuable trace evidence has been collected. 

This most recent event is believed possibly related to a string of fires on the city's southside in recent months and is the third on this same two block stretch of Avenue O. Previously the structures were vacant, dilapidated houses. This is the first known attempt on an occupied home. Consequently, the State Fire Marshall has been contacted and the investigation continues. 

Mark Rohloff, Chief of Police