More Arson Incidents Reported in Downers Grove: Police Blotter

Three more intentional fires were reported in Downers Grove in July, bringing the number of suspected arson incidents to seven for the summer, according to police reports.

Like the other incidents, these latest fires had few witnesses and little evidence to collect, leaving no one responsible at this time for hundreds of dollars in damages.

Two fires, one in a dumpster and another in a garbage can, were discovered by the Downers Grove Fire Department at 3:45 a.m. July 10 in the downtown area. The other incident was a July 13 dumpster fire outside a store on the 7300 block of Lemont Road.

The dumpster in the July 10 incident was located on the southwest corner of a church property directly north of Fischel Park, which is on the 1000 block of Grove Street. The fire crew also saw a garbage can on the north end of Fischel Park that was smoldered at first and later became engulfed in flames.

An officer located a homeless person who had been sleeping in Fischel Park. Their interaction with the person was redacted in the report, but no arrest was made. There was also an estimated $300 in damages to a fence on the church property, according to their maintenance supervisor.

Fire department personnel told police they suspected the fires were intentionally set, according to a police report. They told an officer the same at the scene of the July 13 dumpster fire.

"Upon arrival I spoke to a firefighter who advised he believed the fire was arson because the dumpster was filled with cardboard and he saw no reason for it to ignite other than having been set on fire," according to a police report. "He did not see or smell any accelerants."

The officer checked other dumpsters in the area, but did not see any signs of attempted arson around them.

Most of the incidents this summer, including the July 13 one, have occurred in the lower half of the village south of 55th Street, according to various police reports. A June 10 dumpster fire and a June 12 Porta Potty fire occurred outside O'Neill Middle School. There was also a paper lawn bag set on fire June 10 on the 800 block of 61st Street.

Two garbage can fires, one in a men's bathroom and the other in a women's bathroom, were reported July 3 in McCollum Park. 

Related Stories

• Porta Potty, Dumpster Torched Outside Middle School

• Arson Reported at Downers Grove Park

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Police Blotter information is provided by local law enforcement agencies. Charges are not evidence of guilt. They are a record of police actions taken on a given day, and persons charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. If you or a family member are charged or cited and the case is subsequently adjudicated, we encourage you to notify the editor. We will verify and report the outcome.