String of arson fires bedevils Lawrence
Man charged with 5 blazes is suspect in others
A homeless man was arrested in Lawrence last night, charged with setting at least five of the 10 arsons that have broken out along the bank of the Merrimac River this month.
Rarn Pak, 34, has been charged with arson of a building and arson of personal property, said Lawrence Police Chief John Romero.
Pak was charged in connection with the string of fires that hit the city yesterday, but he was also named a suspect in two fires Saturday and a pair of three-alarm fires Aug. 8.
“He is certainly a suspect in a number of fires that have occurred around the city over the last couple weeks,’’ Romero said.
No injuries were reported in any of the fires.
Six fires broke out over a 1-mile stretch along the river yesterday: two in the morning and four in the afternoon. After the morning fires, a witness came forward and gave police a description of a man seen lighting at least one of the fires, said Romero.
Pak was arrested after police found him in the area where the afternoon fires broke out. The witness later picked Pak out of a photo array.
Romero said Pak had several cigarette lighters when he was arrested. He also had three outstanding traffic warrants out of Ayer District Court, he said.
Romero said Pak allegedly started the five fires outdoors, but one spread to a nearby building and severely damaged an insurance office.
The Lawrence Fire Department suffered serious cutbacks over the summer. Twenty-three of the city’s 100 firefighters were laid off July 1, and three of seven firehouses have been closed as Lawrence tries to emerge from a $25 million budget deficit.
Lawrence has had to rely on mutual aid from surrounding towns, but Acting Fire Chief Brian Murphy said firefighters arrived at all eight weekend fires within 2 to 6 minutes.
He praised the work of the department and thanked state and local police for helping rein in the arson spree quickly.
“They did an excellent job,’’ Murphy said. “It goes to what we’ve been saying all along. We do the best we can with what we have. The firefighters give 100 percent all the time.’’
At 7:54 a.m. yesterday, the first fire was reported under the north side of the Falls Bridge, spanning the Merrimac River. At 8:40, a stack of mattresses was ignited under the nearby Casey Bridge, said Murphy.
At 2 p.m., a structure fire was reported at Marston St., inside an insurance office adjacent to an electrical supply shop, causing about $30,000 in damage. Just minutes later, at 2:06, firefighters arriving at Marston Street saw a brush fire burning about 400 feet away in Storrow Park. Two more brush fires were reported at 2:23 on Island Street, about 500 feet from the Marston Street fire.
Saturday’s fires were lit within one hour and a few hundred feet of each other. A blaze at the Merrimac Paper Mill broke out around 2:30 p.m., and another was reported in a construction staging area under the Falls Bridge.
The abandoned paper mill complex was also the site of the two 3-alarm fires on Aug. 8.
Lawrence Fire Captain Bob Wilson, the department’s investigator, said Pak will be charged with five of the six fires that broke out yesterday. The other fire remains under investigation.
Just hours before police made the arrest, Wilson, in an interview, had called all 10 recent fires arson.
Lawrence Mayor William Lantigua and chief of staff Leonard Degnan did not return calls seeking comment yesterday afternoon.
John M. Guilfoil can be reached at jguilfoil@globe.com. 
