Urbana police list Oct. 5 North Broadway building fire as arson by unknown offender
The police log does not name the building; the fire department's release on the old Washington School fire says the state fire marshal is investigating.
URBANA - An Urbana Police Department criminal activity report dated Oct. 7 lists a fire set Oct. 5 inside an unoccupied building in the 1000 block of North Broadway Avenue as arson.
The report says an unknown offender "set several fires inside an unoccupied building" and lists the offense as arson causing damage to property worth more than $150, with a time of 6:32 p.m. It does not name the building or list an arrest.
The Urbana Fire Department said in an Oct. 6 release that it was sent about 6:30 p.m. Oct. 5 to the vacant old Washington School building at 1102 N. Broadway Ave., where crews found fire on the second floor. The department asked the Illinois Office of the State Fire Marshal to investigate, and said no one was hurt. Firefighters had also responded to the building Oct. 2.
Neither the fire department nor the state fire marshal has released a cause. The fire department asks anyone with information to call 217-384-2420.
Source: Urbana Police Department criminal activity report, Oct. 7, 2026; Urbana Fire Department releases, Oct. 5 and 6, 2026.