Authorities Believe Hartwell Fire Tuesday Was Set

Authorities in Hartwell believe a fire at an abandoned grainery Tuesday morning may have been deliberately set.

Firefighters were called to the old Merritt Grain and Feed building about 4:30a this morning.

Hartwell Fire Chief Terry Vickery said by the time they arrived, the old metal building was fully involved.

The building is located across from the high school on the corner of Cleveland Avenue and Legion St.

Streets around the school were blocked for several hours Tuesday morning while crews worked to put out the blaze.

Vickery said the process of trying to figure out how the fire started is now underway and he says they believe it was arson.

“It’s pretty safe to say it was set fire,” Vickery said. “It was a vacant building with no electricity or utilities whatsoever. That pretty much rules out most things so for the most part, on a fire like this, at onset we say it’s a set fire.”

Vickery said he and the Hartwll Police will be investigating, and he said they already have some leads on who may have set the fire.