Police Release 911 Call In Suspected Arson Case In Luther

A frantic call to 911 as a witness describes the actions of an alleged arsonist. Investigators believe the grass fire in Luther, one of the hardest hit areas, could have been intentionally set.

Monday, August 6th 2012, 7:19 pm

By: News 9


A frantic call to 911 as a witness describes the actions of an alleged arsonist. Investigators believe the grass fire in Luther, one of the hardest hit areas, could have been intentionally set.

Oklahoma Wildfires: Complete Coverage.

News 9 talked with the witness who says it all began with someone throwing burning trash from a truck. The witness had to make a split second decision to chase after an alleged arsonist or save lives.

Listen to the 911 call.

"It just went so fast, just seconds, you didn't have time to think about anything," Leeman Moore said.

Moore and his son said they witnessed the arsonist at work. He described how quick the fire was set.

"It was just ‘swoosh.' It was like an inferno," Moore said.

Moore said he first noticed the driver spin his truck around in the middle of the road.

" I told my son look at this crazy guy. We couldn't figure out what he was doing. When we topped the hill he was sitting on the road chunking it out," Moore said.

The fire began only seconds later.

"We jumped out and started toward it, and he started stomping on it, and it just exploded." Moore said.

Moore said with the flames racing toward nearby homes, they did not try to chase down the arsonist, instead, they began warning the neighbors.

"We told everyone we could that a fire was coming," Moore said.

By the time word reached Tony and Rachel Cobb's front door, the flames were on all but one side of their house.

Hearing they were able to help, Leeman Moore and his son feel confident they made the right decision.

"Had we chased the boy, those people probably wouldn't have made it," Moore said.

Moore said he made the choice to save lives then, and catch an arsonist later,

"We look for the truck every day," Moore said.

Right now police are looking for a driver who fled the scene driving a black Ford F-150 in the area just before the fires.

The Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office is investigating all leads. If you have information regarding the suspect or the black pickup truck, call (405)-869-2501.

The Sheriff's Office has also created several tip lines. If you have information, email the office at ocsocrimetips@oksheriff.org, call (405)-259-OCSO (6276), or send a text message to (405)-259-6276.

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