New video gives Hillview police clue into who may have set string of suspicious fires

BULLITT CO., Ky. (WAVE) - A week after someone set a string of suspicious fires across northern Bullitt County, new surveillance video has given Hillview police a lead in the case.

The fires were set on Sept. 12 at three locations across the county.

One was set at Doors Etc. Glass and Glazing on North Williams Lane, where the suspect is accused of lighting a camper and two box trucks on fire.

The second fire was set in the 4000 block of Blue Lick Road and the last one was set just a few yards away on Velva Drive.

Given the infrequency of fires and the proximity of each one, officials called the fires “suspicious in nature.”

Hillview Police released new video Tuesday, showing a man walk into the Baymont Inn in Brooks, wander the halls for a few seconds and leave.

Before he leaves, Hillview Detective Scott Barrow said the man pulls the fire alarm.

This incident happened roughly 30 minutes after the first fire was set at Doors Etc. Glass and Glazing.

Scott said the man in the new video fits the description of the suspect in the first fire.

“Maybe somebody will recognize, maybe a facial feature,” Barrow said. “Maybe they’ll recognize the way that he walks. Maybe he’s got a scar that they’ll recognize. Maybe there’s something about him that somebody will recognize and they’ll say, ‘hey I’ll know who that is,’ and they’ll let us know.”

Doors Etc.’s owner David ‘Kemo’ Wallace told WAVE News Tuesday he’s still confused why somebody would torch his belongings unprovoked.

“I’m still trying to figure out what in the world that guy was thinking,” Wallace said. “What in the world triggered him, what made him do what he did?”

Wallace said the fire set him back thousands and has interrupted the flow of his business.

“Oh it hurts,” Wallace said. “I mean, it puts a bind on us. I mean, we’re having to fumble around and trying to get other trucks and trying to equip other trucks to do what we need to get done.”

Barrow encourages anyone with information about the fires, or the man seen in the video, to call Hillview Police. He said tips can be left anonymously.

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