Tulsa firefighters respond to 4 fires Tuesday morning during extreme heat

TULSA, Okla. — The Tulsa Fire Department (TFD) responded to four within 30 minutes in the extreme heat on Tuesday morning.

TFD said four fires were started minutes apart, blocks apart, one right after the other and were all on purpose.

A man set a fire at the Tulsa Day Center on Tuesday morning. TFD said he was quickly arrested.

“I don’t know the exact cause, but the fact is, it’s willful and malicious,” said Andy Little, TFD Public Information Officer. “He started the fire intentionally. He wanted to damage the property and that’s against the law, so if you commit crimes like that in Tulsa we will hold you accountable and we will take you to jail.”

Then another fire was set a block away at a railroad property.

Five to ten minutes after that one, another fire was set downtown.

Little said they don’t know if these fires are connected, but these senseless acts put unnecessary pressures on their firefighters, especially in this heat.

“We’re working diligently to make sure our firefighters are hydrated, make sure they can be the best they can be when they respond,” Little said. “We can’t tolerate stuff like this because that’s taxing on our firefighters. And anytime we put them on scenes that they don’t need to be, and they need to be there if there’s a fire, but that fire could be prevented.”

Little also said when it gets this hot outside, things are easier to set on fire. TFD said they’ve seen small fires escalate quickly.

If you see anything suspicious or see someone setting a fire, call the fire department so they can put them out quickly.