A San Antonio, Texas man pleaded guilty in federal court in San Antonio on Thursday to eight charges in two indictments related to arson and felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, Sean Aaron Smith, 29, maliciously attempted to damage and destroy, by means of fire, multiple cellular telephone towers around San Antonio between April 2021 and …
Verizon welcomes the new year with a fireworks display
On New Year’s Eve, firefighters responded to a cell tower that was on fire at West 2nd Street, City of Gulf Shores, AL. According to city officials, the fire was immediately extinguished and emergency service communications were not affected. The 150-foot monopole, constructed in 2006, is owned by Verizon and managed by American Tower Corp. It is unknown if maintenance …
Arson ruled out after Virginia church’s shrouded bell tower goes up in flames
Members of the New Highland Baptist Church attended drive-in services yesterday and were visually reminded of the burnt out hull of their 125-foot bell tower that was set ablaze Thursday night in Mechanicsville, Virginia in their parking lot off of New Ashcake Road. The good news shared at the morning service is that the structure’s owner, American Tower Corp., will …
Crown Castle monopole site is the latest victim of a Memphis cell tower arsonist
A 145-foot Crown Castle monopole site had equipment damaged by fire on February 17, 2020 in Memphis, Tennessee, and Memphis fire officials are stating that it appears to have been intentionally set, causing approximately $75,000 in damage at the 4087 Summer Avenue site which is surrounded by apartments and a shopping plaza. Although the fire was first reported about 11:00 …
Recycling yard fire takes out an Arizona FM tower in its path
A fire that started Friday in Nogales, Ariz. was finally extinguished yesterday, but in its wake it took out a communications tower owned by KOFH, La Maxima 99.1 FM, a bilingual news and talk station owned by Oscar Felix Sr. Felix said he was on the air when the station lost its signal and then he noticed the black smoke …
Welding crew kayos two carriers on Winnipeg airport cell tower
The U.S. doesn’t have exclusivity of crews burning down monopoles while welding, as witnessed Thursday in Winnipeg, Can. when a cell tower providing services to MTS and Telus Mobility subscribers caught fire at the Richardson International Airport . An individual, knowledgeable of the incident, informed Wireless Estimator that a crew was cutting new portholes on the monopole when the transmission …
Monopole is totaled in Utah after a welding crew ignites it
Update: September 2, 2016 – According to West Valley City Fire Battalion Chief Jeff Fox, the monopole fire was caused by a tower crew that had been welding on the structure. He said the tower was stabilized last night, but high winds created difficulties for the crew trying to dismantle it. Firefighters with the Unified Fire Authority extinguished a cell tower …
Vertical Bridge tower compound fire warrants a call for crews to be vigilant
Record-breaking drought and dry conditions throughout the U.S. are a deep concern of climatologists, but it’s also causing fire departments to issue earlier than normal burning bans and cautionary messages to prevent fires such as one that recently scorched roughly 1,100 acres in Weiser, Idaho, when cell tower workers accidentally started the wildfire. According to Weiser Rural Fire Chief Nate …
