Fires at neighboring P.G. homes ruled ‘suspicious’

Two fires in neighboring homes have been ruled suspicious, a Prince George’s County fire department spokesman said Monday.

The fires started in two unoccupied homes in the 8200 block of Student Drive, spokesman Mark Brady said. The most recent fire was reported at about 1:30 a.m. Monday, at a home described by Mr. Brady as being in the drywall installation stage.

“This house was under construction,” he said, adding that “a lot of things could be ruled out right away” as cause for that fire to start.

Firefighters were able to extinguish the flames without incident.

The other fire happened on New Year's Day, Mr. Brady said, at a vacant home next to the house that was damaged Monday morning.

That home was foreclosed and also unoccupied, Mr. Brady said. No injuries were reported.

Mr. Brady said “materials collected at both scenes” had been sent to a forensics lab.

While he could not comment on specifics of the investigation, Mr. Brady said the department was treating both fires as suspicious.

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