Falls police are seeking help from the public as they investigate an arson fire that heavily damaged a tour bus in the early Tuesday morning.
Patrol officers said they responded about 2:50 a.m. to a report of a “vehicle fire” in the 400 block of Second Street. Officers said they arrived at the fire “simultaneously” with Falls firefighters.
Officers said a Vanhool tour bus with a Massachusetts registration was “engulfed in flames.” Falls Fire Truck 1 and Engine 4 battled the blaze and were able to extinguish the flames.
Falls Fire Department fire investigators said they determined that the fire was caused “intentionally, by an unknown means.” Falls police officers said they found footprints in the snow near the bus.
They said the footprints led to a nearby parking lot, before veering off onto an unidentified “path.” Officers said there appeared to be nearby surveillance cameras that could have recorded the incident.
Investigators said a second, identical tour bus, was parked near the fire-damaged bus. That vehicle was impounded as part of what is being called an ongoing arson investigation.
Neither police nor fire investigators were able to contact the owner and operator of the buses in the early stages of the investigation.
Arson investigators are asking anyone who may have information about the bus fire to contact them at the Falls Police Department’s General Information number at 716-286-4711.