For the third time this year, the Daily Mail reports, a suspicious fire has destroyed a house in Prattsville. The house belonged to Jim Rion, and was in the process of being rebuilt after sustaining significant damage in the Irene floods.
Officials believe that Sunday's fire was an act of arson, and may have been connected to two fires that broke out earlier this year at flood-damaged properties:
A trailer in the local mobile home park and a home in the heart of the hamlet district were destroyed in May and July, respectively.
All three buildings were without power and empty at the time they were apparently deliberately ignited. “We’re pretty sure it’s arson,” Dymond said.
“We can’t say for certain if the three fires are related but all the buildings were abandoned with no electricity turned on,” Dymond said.
On the bright side: Prattsville has paid off a $1 million bank loan, taken out to fund the town's post-Irene rebuilding effort, almost a month early.
