One adult and five teenagers have been arrested in connection with a fire that burned down a training facility for Fairfax County’s urban search and rescue team this summer, police announced yesterday (Thursday).
The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department was dispatched at 5:20 p.m. on June 27 after receiving reports of heavy black smoke issuing from a storage facility in the 9900 block of Furnace Road in Lorton.
By the time firefighters arrived, the facility — which housed heavy training equipment used by the search and rescue team known as Virginia Task Force 1 — was fully engulfed in flames. No injuries were ultimately reported, but the blaze caused an estimated $1 million to $1.3 million in damages, according to the Fairfax County Police Department.
Surveillance footage captured by cameras on the property showed unidentified individuals walking around just before the fire started, leading police to suspect criminal activity was involved.
“As the investigation continued, video of the incident was released to the public, generating several tips through Crime Solvers of Fairfax County,” the FCPD said in a press release. “Information provided by the community, along with Flock license plate reader technology, helped detectives identify a vehicle connected to the case and develop additional leads.”
According to the FCPD, its detectives were able to identify six suspects based on those leads and “additional digital evidence” with the assistance of the Fairfax County Office of the Fire Marshal and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Investigators executed search warrants at three homes simultaneously on the morning of Sept. 3, charging a 26-year-old man from Fairfax, an 18-year-old man from Fairfax, an 18-year-old man from Clifton, and three 17-year-old juveniles with burglary and trespassing.
While searching one of the homes, detectives found a “property of Fairfax County” sign, the FCPD said.
The 26-year-old and the Clifton resident have both been released from custody after posting $1,000 in bail money, while the 18-year-old Fairfax resident was released on his own recognizance after a bond hearing on Tuesday (Sept. 8), according to online court records.
The 18-year-old Fairfax man is slated to next appear in Fairfax County General District Court for a preliminary hearing on Dec. 7 at 2 p.m. Preliminary hearings for both the 26-year-old and the Clifton resident are scheduled for Dec. 2 at 2 p.m.
The FCPD says it anticipates filing additional charges.
In Virginia, burglary typically carries a potential prison sentence of one to 20 years, but the classification can vary depending on whether the person was armed or intending to commit murder, rape, robbery or arson.
It’s unclear if arson-related charges are planned in this case, but state law classifies burning a building or structure other than a residence as a class 4 felony punishable with two to 10 years in prison if the property is valued at $1,000 or more.
Established in 1986, Virginia Task Force 1 is made up of approximately 200 Fairfax County fire and rescue personnel. The group is sponsored by the FCFRD but funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for domestic missions and the U.S. State Department for international missions after the Trump administration dismantled USAID.
The task force deployed last month to Colombia to assist with the country’s response to an Aug. 10 earthquake that killed more than 300 people.
