SUSPECTED ARSON

Press, Volume C, Issue 29437, 13 February 1961, Page 10

SUSPECTED ARSON

Two Cases In Week-End

Two cases of suspected arson in the early hours of yesterday are being investigated by detectives of the Criminal Investigation Branch. A strong smell of smoke awoke Mrs Patricia Marion Smith, who was asleep in an upstairs room at 358 Armagh street about 1 am. She investigated and found a fire in a hoi water cupboard in the kitchen beneath the bedroom.

When the cupboard door was opened the interior was a mass of flames which had spread up the wall. Mrs Smith rushed out into the street and a passer-by summoned the fire brigade. The blaze was extinguished but extensive damage was done to the hot water cylinder, cupboard, and wall. The matter is being investigated by Detectives E. B. Wallace and G. D Langley.

When Mr Bruce Shaw McLaughlin, a barrister and solicitor, went to the side door of his home at 28 Mansfield avenue, St. Albans, about 7.45 am. yesterday he found the doormat had been burnt. The wood beneath it had been burnt right through and the paintwork above it was blackened and blistered. The fire was still smouldering and the smell of an inflammable liquid was detected.