An apartment complex in a Tulsa, Oklahoma suburb experienced five occurrences of arson property damage. The local fire department was able to keep the fire from spreading to other apartment buildings and facilities. There were no reported injuries or fatalities. Commercial video surveillance was not offered at this complex.
The first case was a dumpster fire that was reported on the night of September 16. Less than four hours later, a car fire was reported on the property. A second dumpster fire occurred four nights later. On September 26, a fire in the laundry room facilities was reported. It had extensive smoke damage. All of the events took place between 10:00 P.M. and 4:00 A.M. at the apartment complex.
The Tulsa-area police didn’t have any reported leads because of the lack of commercial video surveillance or other available suspect information.
Firefighters were suspicious of the multifamily apartment complex fires’ origins because of a lack of flammable materials nearby. Each of the arson cases was in close proximity to each other. After two weeks of arson property damage, the Tulsa-area police department and fire marshal took action. Because there was no commercial video surveillance, they set up live police surveillance where the events occurred.
After 10:00 P.M., the fire marshal witnessed a woman attempting to set garbage on fire, in a dumpster on the property. After the failed attempt, the arsonist returned to her apartment and the fire marshal reported, “[She] came back with more trash and successfully started the fire.” Firefighters extinguished the fire while police arrested the arsonist.
The arsonist was a 40-year-old woman who lived at the multifamily apartment complex. The criminal confessed to causing the arson property damage. Motives for her 16 day arson spree remain unclear. She was charged with six counts of arson: two counts of second degree arson and four counts of third degree arson.
This apartment complex is not a client of Stealth Monitoring. Stealth proactive live video monitoring can detect and deter crime in Tulsa and other cities in the U.S. while reducing security guard and other expenses. A Stealth operator could have seen the arsonist with commercial video surveillance, activated an audible warning to deter the arsonist, and called the local police.
Contact Stealth for more information on how Stealth can protect your apartment property with commercial video surveillance. Visit our web site to see actual videos of criminals being apprehended.
