Lambda Chi sign lit on fire by flaming beer bottle

The IU Police Department is investigating a fire in front of and on the stone sign outside of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, 1210 E. Third St., early Wednesday morning. IUPD Capt. Jerry Minger said police, while driving by the house, saw flames coming from a beer bottle. A cloth wick was found next to the bottle, he said. \nMinger said it is possible the arsonist could have put the wick into the bottle and thrown it, lighting the sign on fire.\n"The implication is that there was some sort of combustible liquid in the beer bottle which was used in connection with the flames on the stone," Minger said. \nHowever, he said police are not making an assumption at this point about how the fire started. \n"If somebody would have actually lit something like that and thrown it to create a fire, then the bottle would normally break," Minger said. "And the bottle wasn't broken."\nPolice used fire extinguishers to put out the flames, Minger said. No major damage was reported.\n"Whenever we see flames in a place that wouldn't have been started by a spontaneous combustion, electrical or something like that, it could be classified as an arson case," he said. \nPolice were unable to locate anyone at the house after knocking on the doors and are continuing to investigate possible suspects, maybe using fingerprints from the beer bottle, Minger said.\nAs of Wednesday, police had talked to several members of the fraternity, all of whom said they had neither seen nor heard anything, he said.\n"(The case) will be inactive at this time until we get more information or (receive a lead) we can follow up on," Minger said. "Hopefully someone that may have been in the vicinity may have seen something."\nHe said anyone with information about the case should contact the IUPD at 855-4111.