SAINT ALBANS, WV (LOOTPRESS) – A Kanawha County woman was arrested for her alleged involvement in multiple fires in the Saint Albans area on Wednesday which caused over $319,000.00 in property damage.
The Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office reports that, on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, the Lakewood Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched to a structure fire in which multiple buildings had caught fire in the River Park Circle of Saint Albans.
Reports were initially received by Metro 911 of a single-vehicle fire at around 1:25am in a vehicle parked near a residence. Within minutes, fire had reportedly reeked devastation to three other vehicles, an additional residence, and outbuilding.
Responding fire departments included Saint Albans Fire Department, Tornado Volunteer Fire Department, West Side Volunteer Fire Department, and Lakewood Volunteer Fire Department. Law enforcement assistance was requested upon the observing of a suspicious female at the scene who presented as a potential suspect.
Kanawha County Sheriff’s Deputy M.A. Dingess responded to the scene, locating Donna Lou Hall – 54 years old of Lower Falls Road in Saint Albans, WV – who was not a resident of the River Park Circle Area and was placed by fire crews in the immediate vicinity of where the fires began.
It was determined by Deputies that Hall had been inside a red Jaguar prior to the beginning of the fire, the same Jaguar in which the fire initially began, according to fire personnel.
Hall was also found to have been on the porch of one of the residences prior to it having caught fire and was also found to have been in possession of fire-producing materials. Additionally, Hall reportedly had markings on her hands consistent with fire ash and deputies believe she had been under the influence of an impairing substance.
Donna L. Hall was placed under arrest for three counts of First Degree Arson and four Counts of Third Degree Arson and is currently being held at South Central Regional Jail on a $10,000 cash bond. The expense of property damage caused is estimated to exceed $319,000.00.
The investigation currently remains active and anyone with surveillance video or pertinent information to the case is encouraged to contact the Kanawha County Sheriff’s Office.