Police are investigating the destruction of a portable toilet at Sweet Home High School Sunday afternoon, Aug. 24, as arson.
Sweet Home firefighters and police responded to the fire at 3:49 p.m. to find a portable toilet fully involved, said Julie Mayfield, Sweet Home Fire and Ambulance District administrative assistant. The toilet had melted to approximately 2 feet in height.
Four firefighters responded with two pieces of apparatus.
The portable toilet was located on the north end of the junior varsity soccer field, across 18th Avenue from the varsity baseball field and south of the High School shops.
Fire officials were unable to determine the cause of the fire, Mayfield said.
The handicapped-accessible toilet was worth about $1,300, said Sten Weld of Buck’s Sanitary Service, which owned the portable facility. Bucks is offering a $250 reward to anybody who provides information leading to a conviction.
“We have very limited information,” said Police Chief Jeff Lynn. The toilet was a complete loss. It had no power and police don’t know any other way it may have caught fire, “so we’re investigating it as an arson.”
Police are working with School District 55 to gather video surveillance of the area, Lynn said.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to determine something when we get all the video together. We’re hopefully optimistic.”
Lynn said that anyone with information about the fire should contact the Sweet Home Police Department at (541) 367-5181.