FREMONT – A 36-year-old Newark man was arrested on suspicion of starting a series of small fires in Newark and Fremont, according to police.
The incident occurred around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, when the first of the fires was reported in the 36000 block of Cedar Boulevard in Newark, the Newark Police Department said in a news release. Witnesses put out the fire before the police arrived.
Evidence at the scene suggests an arson targeting vegetation and a staircase leading to a building, according to police. The building, unoccupied, suffered slight damage.
Around 11:45 a.m., a piece of furniture was found burning near Balboa Way and Thornton Avenue in Fremont, Fremont police said in a news release.
Another fire involving a piece of furniture was reported about 20 minutes later in the 35000 block of Fremont Boulevard, according to police. Over the next hour and a half, several other small fires broke out in the northern part of Fremont.
Witnesses at the fire scene provided the same general description of the suspect, police said.
Around 1:30 p.m., a Fremont police sergeant spotted smoke coming from the area of Thornton Avenue and Interstate 880. The sergeant responded to the scene and found a man starting another fire in an area wooded area adjacent to the road, according to police.
Fremont police arrested the man on suspicion of arson, while Newark police arrested him on suspicion of possession of a flammable material with intent to set the fire to a structure.
Police said no injuries were reported in the fires and damage was limited to vegetation, abandoned properties and trash.
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