Redlands Fire Department arson investigators are investigating three suspicious fires that took place early Wednesday morning at a school district transportation yard and nearby high school classroom.
Redlands Firefighters responded to a 911 call of fire at the Redlands Unified School District transportation yard on Central Avenue just north of Citrus Avenue at about 4 a.m. Wednesday, March 18. Firefighters arrived to find a school bus and a utility trailer engulfed in flames.
It took crews about 15 minutes to control the blazes which destroyed the bus and trailer and damaged another bus and trailer.
While firefighters were fighting the blazes at the transportation yard they received another call of a fire in a modular classroom a half block away on the Redlands High School campus.
It took firefighters less than 30 minutes to put out the fire which destroyed one classroom on the school’s north campus. None of the other classrooms were damaged.
No one was injured in the blazes. Damage estimates are unavailable. Investigators believe all three fires were set intentionally.
Redlands School District students are on Spring Break this week and only a handful of students were expected on campus Wednesday. School district officials indicated that the room had been used for Spanish classes.
The transportation yard houses approximately 60 buses and other equipment which serve the entire district. The buses that were damaged were not used for daily student transportation and the trailer was empty at the time of the fire.
The Redlands Unified School District issued the following statement on Wednesday: “We appreciate the Redlands Fire Department’s work this morning. Their efforts prevented a bad situation from becoming worse. As they continue their investigation, we turn our attention toward clean-up and replacement, and will be ready for school to resume on Monday.”
Four engines, a truck, a medic squad and a battalion chief responded to the blazes, along with Redlands Police.
The Redlands Police Department is investigating the possibility the fires were part of an attempted burglary. Redlands Fire Department arson investigators are being assisted by the San Bernardino County Arson Task Force which includes arson units of the San Bernardino County Fire Department, Rialto and Rancho Cucamonga Fire departments, and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department Bomb Arson Unit.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Redlands Fire Department Arson Unit at (909) 798-7600.