Reward Rising in Elementary School Fire
Justice for Birney Elementary means $10,000 prize
Students at the Alice Birney School in University Heights will return to school on Wednesday.
The hunt heats up to find the party responsible for an arson fire last month at a University Heights elementary school.
San Diego Crime Stoppers will formally announce Monday its decision to match a $5,000 award currently offered by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, bringing the total prize to $10,000.
Shortly before midnight on Jan. 16, an unknown number of suspects entered Alice Birney Elementary School, pouring flammable liquid around the campus before setting the school on fire.
The auditorium, cafeteria and kitchen all suffered damages. No one was reported injured.
“We estimate that it will cost about $50,000 to replace all the materials we had stored in the auditorium,” principal Hammond Williams said Saturday.
Early estimates totaled the entire damage cost at about $600,000.
A non-profit organization, Friends of Alice Birney Elementary, is accepting donations in the fire's wake.
Tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers online or by phone at (888) 580-8477.
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