Smithfield — Police and fire investigators want to know who set two fires this week at a barn on Booker Dairy Road, across from Smithfield-Selma High School.

Edward Stephenson of nearby 2480 Buffalo Road owns the barn, which he uses for storing hay. But the barn is most recognized for the way high school students adorn it with their own messages.

This week’s fires damaged the inside of the barn but left its exterior largely unscathed.

The first fire call came in at 6:44 p.m. Tuesday, and Smithfield firefighters contained the blaze fire quickly.

“Basically, it was a small pile of wheat straw on fire,” Smithfield Fire Marshal Paul Whitehurst said. “It was just a pile of straw right inside the door.”

Whitehurst said firefighters were on the scene about 15 minutes the first time.

The second call came in at 12:13 a.m. Wednesday.

“When we got there, it was, of course, a more significant fire,” Whitehurst said. “Actually, there was a tire inside, and the tire was not in there, as best we can determine, the first time.”

Whitehurst said it looked like the tire was the origin point of the second fire, and the interior’s first floor suffered most of the damage, he said.

Stephenson said he planned to eventually move the barn or raze it to make room for an office park on the property. Still, he’s baffled as to why someone would have set the barn afire.

“The firemen said there were some arsonists going around the county,” Stephenson said. “I just don’t understand it.”

Stephenson said he’s never condoned the students’ graffiti on his barn, but he accepts that it’s a rite of passage.

“I hate it for the kids because they enjoy doing it,” he said.

Stephenson said he lost nothing of value in the fire. Smithfield Detective Keith Powell said police have no leads.

Whitehurst said he had determined the fires were intentional. Anyone with any information about the fires should call the fire station at 934-2468 or the police station at 934-2121.