WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) — Two vacant homes caught fire in Warren — luckily, no one was injured in either fire — but they happened not too far from each other and on back-to-back days.
The first happened Sunday night around 5:15 on Jefferson Street. Fire Chief Ken Nussle says the fire was an act of arson.
“We’re hoping this is not a trend,” Nussle said. “It’s the whole house. It’s blazing. Everything is blazing. … It wasn’t known to have squatters. There was no gas or electric turned on. It’s been vacant for quite some time so, obviously, it was intentionally set.”
The second fire happened just before 10 p.m. Monday on Tod Avenue.
“The whole house is almost all the way on fire,” a caller reported to dispatch at the time.
Nussle says neighbors reported squatters had been known to stay in this home, but at the time of the fire, no one was found. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
“If they cannot determine that there were squatters in it, it will be listed as arson,” Nussle said.
Both the fire on Jefferson Street and the one on Tod Avenue happened on the southwest side of the city within a mile of each other and only about 29 hours apart.
“It’s a little bit of a red flag,” Nussle said. “It, you know, could be the same people or persons doing this, but we should find out in the not-so-distant future.”
