Camden's mayor has asked the state to investigate fires two days apart that reduced two abandoned warehouses and a score of other buildings to rubble.
Mayor Dana Redd said Monday she's asked the state Attorney General's Office to help because the similar blazes broke out within 36 hours. One was Thursday afternoon, the other started early Saturday morning.
Redd did not say whether there is any evidence that the fires are suspicious.
The attorney general's role in determining the cause is not exactly clear. The city and Camden County fire marshals already are working on the investigations, as is the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Camden Fire Chief Michael Harper said Monday that it could take weeks to determine a cause for any fire so big. Investigating two at the same time could take even longer.
Thursday's 12-alarm fire burned a former tire distributorship and most of the homes over two city blocks. It displaced 16 families, including 30 adults and 35 children. The city government, the Red Cross and social service agencies are trying to find them long-term housing, Redd said.
Efforts to fight that blaze were hampered because three nearby hydrants had been vandalized and were unusable, Harper said Friday.
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The second fire, which went to eight alarms, was in another abandoned warehouse. Neighbors said it was frequented by drug dealers and prostitutes.
Neither fire caused any serious injuries.
Both buildings were targets for building materials thieves.
Police Chief Scott Thomson said his department a few weeks ago arrested people suspected of removing beams from the building that burned Thursday.
The fires were the largest in the city since January, when budget woes led to the layoffs of nearly 70 firefighters from a force that previously had 212. With the help of federal grants and a deal with the state government, more than half have been rehired.
Redd said it's unfair to criticize the city for relying on help from neighboring towns. The department would have needed help with fires as large as these no matter the size of its force, she said.
