Kids setting small fires earlier in the evening could be what ignited fire that damaged the playground at a school and a box found at a ball field in Park View, Iowa.
The fire was reported shortly after 11 p.m. Tuesday, June 2, 2015, on the playground of Neil Armstrong Elementary School at 212 S. Parkview Drive, just north of Eldridge.
"The investigation thus far has determined that there were young juveniles at the playground earlier in the evening, and that possibly one or more of the young juveniles were setting small burnable items on fire," said a spokesman for the Scott County Sheriff's Office. "It is possible that the items burnt, in conjunction with playground wood chips, smoldered throughout the evening. The smoldering items then reignited later in the evening, catching the playground set on fire."
Initial information indicated the damage could cost $20,000 to repair; an official dollar amount for the damage was not yet released, only a statement calling it "substantial."
The Sheriff's Office also got a report of a burned cardboard box found at the south ball diamonds in Park View at about 7:30 a.m. the next morning, June 3.
"The two separate fires are believed to be linked at this time," the spokesman said. Investigators thought they knew who the involved kids were, but their identities were not yet released.