Fire at Camp Belzer deemed suspicious - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

A Boy Scout camp in Indianapolis was hit by fire again. Arson investigators are at Camp Belzer looking for the cause of the fire, and they're calling it suspicious.

The blaze destroyed a cabin that's as old as the camp. It's the second building to go up in flames in two years.

An arson dog had some hits and further samples have been sent to the lab. Investigators found other vandalism on the property today, too.

Camp Belzer is located in Lawrence just off I-465 and 56th Street. A caretaker reported the fire around 4:30 am.

The outbuilding was the oldest building in the Boy Scout camp. It went up and flames and burned to the ground. Now investigators are trying to determine why.

Investigators have their hands full because there is so little left. Searching past the ashes and scorched timber, they are starting with the cabin's electrical and heating systems.

A camp employee discovered the fire. Arriving firefighters found the unoccupied cabin engulfed in flames. With no hope of saving it, they surrounded the fire, kept it from spreading and alerted investigators.

"According to the camp director they had several vandalisms in this particular building. Investigators are going to look at everything. They are not going to rule anything out. They will look at the entire picture," said Chief Dino Batalis, Lawrence Fire Department.

Boy Scout officials were accessing the damage and making contingency plans before the fire was out. 40,000 Scouts and numerous community groups visit Camp Belzer every year.

"The building is used in a lot of ways. We have to figure out what we do in the meantime and how to move forward," said Kevin McPherson, Boy Scouts.

The Scouts have been through this before. Less than two years ago, an early morning fire destroyed the camp's main building. Investigators determined it was caused by the spontaneous combustion of used cleaning materials left in a trash can.

The new $3 million activity center, equipped with a sprinkling system, opened in June. The project included new and additional fire hydrants, which fire officials say made Thursday's fire easier to control and keep from spreading.

There were no injuries in Thursday's fire.