A man living at a Salem park faces arson and criminal mischief charges after allegedly setting fire to a storage facility near the Salem Municipal Airport Monday resulting in more than $1 million in damages.
Salem and Marion County Fire District #1 firefighters responded to a report of a large fire around 6 p.m. at the Airport Self Storage, 2142 Turner Road SE. Aumsville firefighters were also initially dispatched but later recalled.
Authorities said the four-alarm fire burned for several hours and destroyed an estimated 25 storage units, though the city's emergency preparedness manager, Greg Walsh, said he would not be surprised if all 100 units in the building were affected by smoke.
There were no injuries reported, though the number of people who lost belongings in the fire was not immediately available.