The short version
- El Nuevo Día and Primera Hora reported that the fire was reported around 12:30 a.m. on PR-435 at its intersection with PR-433 in the Mirabales neighborhood of San Sebastián
- Police said someone used an accelerant to start the fire on a municipal monitoring tower with security cameras according to preliminary information
- Firefighters from the Negociado del Cuerpo de Bomberos put out the flames and no injuries were reported
- The case was referred to Agent Norberto Jiménez of the Explosives Division in Aguadilla for further investigation
Fire reported early Tuesday
An installation with security cameras belonging to the municipality of San Sebastián was damaged in what authorities are investigating as an apparent intentional fire. El Nuevo Día reported the incident occurred around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday on PR-435 at its intersection with PR-433 in the Mirabales neighborhood, in front of a supermarket. Primera Hora reported the tower is located in front of Supermarket El Paraíso.
According to a police press release cited by both outlets, someone used an accelerant to set the municipal monitoring tower on fire. The police described the information as preliminary. Firefighters from the Negociado del Cuerpo de Bomberos extinguished the flames. No one was injured and the extent of the damage has not been estimated.
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Investigation assigned
Agent Geraldo Valentín of the San Sebastián District carried out the preliminary investigation, according to both reports. The case was referred to Agent Norberto Jiménez of the Explosives Division in Aguadilla, who will continue the investigation.
Both El Nuevo Día and Primera Hora published the information based on the police report of new developments and a municipal press release.
Where the sources differ
El Nuevo Día and Primera Hora agree on all key facts including the time, exact location in barrio Mirabales of San Sebastián, the use of an accelerant per police, the agency that extinguished the fire, the absence of injuries, that damages are unestimated, and the names of the two agents involved. El Nuevo Día refers to an "aparente incendio intencional" while Primera Hora calls it an "incendio malicioso"; both attribute the characterization to the police report or preliminary information. The only minor difference is that Primera Hora names the supermarket as El Paraíso while El Nuevo Día refers only to "un supermercado."
What the reports do not say
The reports do not state whether any video or equipment was destroyed, whether the tower was actively recording at the time, if there are suspects, what accelerant may have been used, or whether the municipality has issued any statement beyond the initial police notification. No timeline for completing the investigation is provided.
Sources
Every link below was opened and checked when this story was published. Official means a government body, agency or the organization itself; Reporting means a news outlet.
- Official Queman torre de cámaras de seguridad del Municipio de San Sebastián
- Reporting Queman torre de cámaras de seguridad del Municipio de San Sebastián
- Reporting Queman torre de monitoreo de cámaras de seguridad en San Sebastián
How we checked this
Both El Nuevo Día and Primera Hora reported the same police account of the fire at the San Sebastián municipal camera tower. All details including the accelerant, responding agencies, lack of injuries and the assignment of Agent Norberto Jiménez rest on the single police report cited by both outlets.
Compiled by the PuertoRico.com News Desk from the reports and statements listed above, and checked against them before publishing. It does not include original interviews. Spot an error? Email support@puertorico.com with a link to this story.
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