Fatal fire ruled arson
Officials investigate case as homicide
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
SPRINGFIELD — A fire that claimed the life of a Springfield woman May 9 was intentionally set, Assistant Chief Nick Heimlich of the Springfield Fire and Rescue Division has said.
"As an investigator, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that it was arson," he said.
Extras
Alia Hartman, 25, was found dead after the blaze in her home at 1805 S. Sweetbriar Lane in the early hours of May 9.
Officials do not yet have a cause of death and continue to investigate the case as a homicide, Springfield Police Division Chief Stephen Moody said.
"The general rule is to treat it as a homicide until we can prove otherwise," he said.
Investigators are waiting for results of toxicology tests to determine a cause of death, Moody said.
She was alive at the time the fire started, Heimlich said.
The fire started in a bedroom, but Heimlich would not comment on the manner in which the fire was set.
No one else was killed in the blaze. Two children reportedly lived in the home but were not there when the fire erupted.
Police Division officials are working in conjunction with the Springfield Fire and Rescue Division on the investigation, Moody said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 328-0360 or vlough@coxohio.com.
