‘Person of interest’ questioned in Tuesday’s Confederate Ridge Apartment fire

UPDATE: 3 p.m.

The person of interest has been located by the Vicksburg Fire Department and is being questioned. We will continue to update this story as we get more information.

Vicksburg Fire Chief Craig Danczyk said that his department is investigating the fire that destroyed a building in the former Confederate Ridge Apartments yesterday.

The complex is not occupied, and there are no reports of injuries.

“We do have a person of interest,” Dancyzk said, adding, “Hopefully, that person can be located and brought in for questioning.

The individual in question is known to the department.

”We have a statement from an eye witness, and this person has been a suspect in other fires on that same property,” Dancyzk said.

“The fire yesterday was incendiary,” the chief said. “It was not an act of God or an accidental fire.”

Depending on what the investigation reveals, that person may be charged with the crime of arson, which is a felony.

“If someone sets a fire, it’s deemed incendiary, and if they’re convicted of the crime of arson in a court of law, they can be charged and punished,” he said. “… That may be jail time.”

Dancyzk said that as many as five fires have occurred on the property in the last several years.

“I was at all of them, so I’m familiar with the nature of each fire,” he said.

A cooking fire occurred when the property was still occupied, spreading to the building.

“Since then, we’ve had fires that were set,” he said.

Apparently, renovations to the property were underway and nearing completion some 12 to 14 months ago when the funds ran out and work stopped. Dancyzk believes the building destroyed by fire yesterday was part of the renovations.

If you have any information on this fire, including anyone who might have been on the property before it was set, please call the Vicksburg Fire Department at 601-636-1603.