The Eugene fire department responded at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday to a fire alarm at the home of the men’s basketball team head coach Ernie Kent. The house, at 3335 Park Hill, was unoccupied at the time of the fire and was in the process of being renovated.
Eugene Police Department Spokeswoman Pam Alejandre said the fire department called police after responding to the alarm because they suspected arson. Alejandre said there were several locations where a fire had been lit inside of the house, and there were no fires lit outside of the house.
“The fires had mostly burned themselves out by the time the fire department arrived at the scene,” Alejandre said, adding there was no obvious evidence of a break-in. She said there is no indication of a motive for the fire at this time.
“From here, we’ll process the evidence and determine the source of the fire,” Alejandre said.
Kent was out of town on recruitment business but released a statement through the University Athletic Department.
“It is very difficult to be on the road at a time like this and you get a phone call in the middle of the night, because immediately you start to think about the safety of your family and your team,” he said. “It is also very sad that someone has taken it upon themselves to do something like this because it is wrong, and whoever did this endangered the lives of others in that neighborhood.”