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Firefighters responded to another vacant West Central house that was intentionally set on fire early Tuesday, the latest in a string of neighborhood fires since late May.
Fire crews were called to the most recent arson about 3:51 a.m. Tuesday at 1304 Jackson St. Firefighters found heavy smoke coming from the two-story house. When they opened the front doors, the fire flashed over their heads, according to the fire department.
Firefighters battled the blaze for 20 minutes before they could get inside and extinguish it. Fire crews confirmed the house was vacant, the department said.
Department spokeswoman Susan Banta confirmed later Tuesday that the fire was intentionally set. Besides Tuesday’s fire, the department is actively investigating two other arson fires on Jackson Street and two more intentionally set vacant house fires on Hendricks Street, Banta said.
Anyone with information regarding any of the five fires is asked to call 427-1317, Banta said.
Despite the appearance of a rash of fires in the West Central neighborhood during the past month, the 20 arson fires citywide during April, May and June is the same number the department investigated during the same three months last year, Banta said.
But for longtime West Central resident John Simerman, the fires hit too close to home. Simmerman owned the 1870’s-era bungalow that sat at 1310 Jackson St. until it burned down May 22.
Simerman said he saved the property from demolition and “mothballed” the 1 1/2 story home until he could afford to repair it and rent it out again. Now, the only maintenance he needs to do to the property is mow the grass, once it grows back, as the remains of the building were torn down after the fire, he said Tuesday evening.
Simerman doesn’t know why anyone would target Jackson Street, but he said West Central neighbors are fearful that their home or their neighbor’s home could be next. But he is confident that the fire department will find those responsible, Simerman said.
On May 22, the fire department was called to fires in two vacant houses in the 1300 block of Jackson Street, set within two hours of each other.
Crews were called to the first blaze before 5 a.m. that destroyed Simerman’s house. Firefighters returned to the block two hours later to extinguish a fire at 1305 Jackson St. On May 24, just before 6 a.m., crews were called back to 1305 Jackson St. to extinguish another suspicious fire in the same house.
More recently, firefighters tackled blazes inside two Hendricks Street houses. A fire that caused moderate damage to 528 Hendricks St. on June 17 was also ruled an arson fire. Fire crews worked a fire in a vacant home at 625 Hendricks St. on June 10, which has also been declared an incendiary fire, Banta said Tuesday.
