DULUTH, Ga. -- Fire officials believe someone officially set fire to a Gwinnett County pizza restaurant on Tuesday. Now they want to know who did it and why.
The fire was reported around 12:30 a.m. after an alarm went off in a neighboring business. Fire crews arrived to the 2800 block of Peachtree Industrial Boulevard to find smoke at the Pepperoni's Pizza in the shopping center there, though the fire had already been put out.
Investigators soon found evidence that the fire was set intentionally. They've already gathered samples from the scene to find out whether an accelerant, like gasoline, was used in the crime. Beyond that, those in charge of the investigation aren't releasing many more details about what they found at the scene at this point.
However, they would say that they were glad that the business wasn't open when the fire was started.
"We are fortunate that the restaurant and surrounding businesses were closed at the time and no one was injured or killed," Gwinnett Fire Captain Tommy Rutledge said.
He also described the crime as a "bold act" for which the perpetrators will be held accountable.
Whoever is responsible faces up to 20 years in prison in addition to fines. And anyone who provides information on the arsonist could receive a reward of up to $10,000 from Georgia Arson Control, Inc.
Authorities are hoping the public can help by calling the Gwinnett Fire Investigators Section at 678-518-4890 or the Georgia Arson Control Hotline at 1-800-282-5804.
