GORHAM – A year after a string of arsons struck Gorham and unnerved residents, authorities have yet to charge anyone in the crimes.

The series of fires in unoccupied buildings began on March 27 last year. The State’s Fire Marshal’s Office determined that five were arsons and it ruled another as suspicious.

Those six fires were in the westerly and northerly rural areas of Gorham and included one on Easter Sunday.

Maine Fire Marshal Joseph Thomas said on Wednesday that the fires are still under investigation.

“We’ve got a number of individuals were looking at,” Thomas said, describing them as either suspects or people of interest.

The series of six unsolved fires began March 27 at a vacant home at 70 Spiller Road. The others were March 31 at the SnoGoers clubhouse, 209 Mighty St.; April 1, a vacant house on Great Falls Road; April 8, a two-car garage at 215 Buck St.; April 11, a vacant house at 56 Dingley Spring Road; and April 18, a vacant property on Sebago Lake Road.

It’s undetermined whether one person is responsible for the arsons, as copycats could be involved. The Gorham Town Council last April offered a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the apprehension, arrest and conviction of those involved in the arson fires. Town Manager David Cole said on Wednesday the reward is still in effect.

Besides damages and loss of buildings, a Gorham official reported last year that in a two-week period during the series of fires, call company wages had more than doubled to $16,000 from well under $8,000. Standish firefighters also responded to the six fires costing between $1,000 and $2,000 for each call.

Meanwhile, in a case unrelated to the series of fires, a Gorham homeowner will not be charged in shooting a masked teenager, who was hospitalized, during an alleged attempted arson last July.

Tamara Getchell, a spokeswoman for the Cumberland County District Attorney’s Office, said Tuesday that the case has been resolved.

“The disposition involving the juvenile is confidential by statute,” Getchell said. “The homeowner was not charged.”

Gorham police said last year that a homeowner and a witness interrupted an arson at 8 Mountview Drive in Gorham at 11:45 p.m. on July 13, and that a 14-year old boy was hospitalized after being shot with a 12-gauge shotgun.

Gorham police said the juvenile was disguised and that the home was occupied when the incident occurred. Police conducted an investigation and forwarded the case to the district attorney for review.

Gorham police did not release names of anyone involved in the case. Town tax records show that Craig and Tracey Bassingthwaite own the property where the shooting occurred. Craig Bassingthwaite at that time was head coach of the Gorham Grizzlies, a football team for middle-school players.

Bassingthwaite did not respond to an email request for comment on Tuesday.

Following the shooting incident, Gorham Football Boosters, which sponsors the team, placed Bassingthwaite on leave of absence as coach, but he was later reinstated. Subsequently, Bassingthwaite stepped down as coach and the position remains vacant according to the boosters’ website

Ben Tuttle, co-president of the football boosters, said last month that Bassingthwaite served its program for seven years – three years as Grizzlies head coach and fours years as an assistant coach for the Junior Grizzlies – and decided to move on.

“His poise, work ethic, interactions with our young players, and his dedication to our football family has molded many young boys into fine young men,” Tuttle said. “He will be missed on the Gorham gridiron.”

Firefighters at the scene of what was the first arson in Gorham, March 27, 2012, in a vacant home at 70 Spiller Road. File photo