Arson Attempt Reported In State College

An attempted arson has been reported in State College, this one on the 200 block of South Fraser Street, borough police said Friday.

It happened overnight between Wednesday and Thursday at 224 S. Fraser St., said police Lt. Chris Fishel. He said someone tried to start a fire in the interior of a doorway area there.

There’s a good chance that an accelerant may have been used, Fishel said. The building, across the street from the main post office in town, houses both offices and apartments.

Fishel said the incident is the latest in a two-month series of suspicious fires, including small blazes reported at a local Pizza Hut, at the Parkway Plaza apartment complex and behind the borough municipal building, 243 S. Allen St.

At the borough building, there have been two suspicious fires involving parked police vehicles, the most recent one on Sunday morning.

Fishel said police have identified two individuals they were seeking as ‘persons of interest’ in connection with the Sunday fire. He described them as witnesses and said they are now cooperating with police.

Meanwhile, Fishel said, new reports suggest that the suspicious fires may date back farther than June. Just this week, he said, someone reported a strange fire that happened in December on the 900 block of South Atherton Street.

Police are receiving more leads as the fires receive more public attention, Fishel said. He said ‘there’s a strong possibility they’re all related.’

An investigation is continuing.