“Seven fires within any area of the city would be a concern to us,” Adams said. “The main point is we are aggressively investigating those fires.”
While the fire department would not reveal their tactics, Adams said the department employs three fire investigators, who are also police officers. Those officers are working each of these cases to trace the fire back to the source and make an arrest.
That can’t happen soon enough for William McHargue, whose home on South Van Lear Street is surrounded by the charred walls of vacant homes and garages set ablaze by arsonists.
“Surely I’m worried about it, McHargue said. “They’re just on garages now until they start burning people’s homes. I don’t want to see them burn.”
Despite this latest issue near South Van Lear Street, arson are down in comparison to past years. So far this year, 177 fires have been reported, 75 of which were determined to be arson. If fires continue on that trend, there will be less this year than last year, Adams said. In total, there were 365 fires in 2014, 164 of which were suspicious, according to the Dayton fire department.
Neighbors are urged to report suspicious activity to police or the fire department. Information about arson can be delivered to investigators anonymously using the Crime Stoppers tip line at (937) 222-7867.
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