RICHARD STEPHENS / PVT Firefighters gather around a dumpster at the Beatty Transfer Station to suppress one of four suspicious fires set over the same week. Advertisement

BEATTY -- Arson is suspected in a spate of fires at the Beatty Transfer Station last week.

During cold months, fires are sometimes accidentally started by unextinguished ashes from fireplaces and wood-burning stoves, but this is unlikely this time of year, as are four fires in the same week.

The first three were on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, April 27-29, and the fourth on Saturday, May 2. The fires alternated between the two large transfer bins at the site.

Some might think fires in a garbage bin are harmless but real damage is done, and, since fire and ambulance personnel must respond, there is also expense to the county and possible risk to the firemen and the community.

Damage to the bins mainly consisted in burning off of the paint. Pahrump Valley Disposal General Manager Damon Shea estimated it costs approximately $200 to repaint one of the bins.

The volunteer ambulance service responded to put out the fires, and the ambulance service automatically provides stand-by assistance whenever the firemen are called out. This consumes fuel and pulls volunteers off their jobs, and there is always danger that something in the bins could explode or release toxic vapors when burned.

It also ties up equipment that could be needed if there were another fire or medical emergency in town, and the tankers are out of service while being refilled with water.

If anyone has information that might lead to the apprehension of the suspected arsonist, he or she is encouraged to contact the sheriff's office.