Four teens have been indicted in connection with a series of fires that swept through the former Elan School property in Poland and two locations in Yarmouth.

The fires were reported between mid-November 2024 and March 7.

James Akers, 18, of Portland, and Jacob Kaiser, 18, of Biddeford, have been charged with a total of five counts of arson between Androscoggin and Cumberland counties. They are also charged with five counts of aggravated criminal mischief and charges of burglary, theft and criminal mischief.

Both Kaiser and Akers were arrested in May and have since been released on bail pending court appearances later in the year.

Two juveniles, each 17 years old at the time the fires were reported, have also been charged with multiple counts of arson, burglary and theft. Because of their minor status, the teens have not been identified.

Grand juries in both Androscoggin and Cumberland counties returned indictments against the teens in the middle of July.

In all, investigators say seven fires were intentionally set in Poland and Yarmouth, including three that destroyed parts of the now-defunct Elan School.

One teen is accused of burning a U.S. Forest Service sign and another is accused of destroying a vacant home at 14 Madeleine Point Road in Yarmouth on March 1.

In Yarmouth, two additional fires were set, one in November and the second in January, at a vacant home under construction at 508 West Main St. Three of the fires occurred at the former Elan School at 70 Number Five Road in Poland, which destroyed several buildings on the vacant campus.

The fires at the old Elan School — on Nov. 17, 2024, and March 1 and 7, 2025 — drew heavy media attention due to the school’s controversial history.

The boarding school for troubled children is alleged to have been a source of physical and emotional abuse for students, including physical punishments and forced fighting. It opened in 1970 and closed in 2011 due to declining enrollment and emerging allegations of abuse over the years.

The fires were investigated by Yarmouth police and the Office of State Fire Marshal with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Maine Forest Service.