Police Looking For Arsonist After Responding To Several Worcester Fires
WORCESTER (CBS) - Police are looking for an arsonist on the loose in Worcester.
Fires have been set three times at the same abandoned home in the city since last Friday. There were also two other fires nearby, and there are concerns about the possibility of more fires set in the future.
"As a house owner like myself, (an arson) depreciates the property around you, so it's not a good thing and it actually makes people feel unsafe," said Linda Rotella, who was one of the first to spot last Friday's fire.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Lana Jones reports
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Vacant houses are a big problem in any major city because they are considered a potential target for arson.
"Any time we get a building like this, it's a public safety hazard. It's a hazard to our firefighters as well," said Dist. Chief Samuel Richesson of the Worcester Fire Department. "We got a building like this that after a fire can remain unsecured for a period of time."
Worcester firefighters know all too well what can happen when they go into a vacant building. The cold storage warehouse, where six Worcester firefighters died in 1999, was an abandoned building filled with traps.
Because of that tragic fire, officials now keep a log book that lists around 400 abandoned properties in Worcester, now including the building burned in last week's arson. The listings detail floor plans and potential dangers.
Authorities label the most dangerous vacant homes with a red "X," which indicates a structurally unsafe building. If a building labeled with a red "X" should burn again, fire crews will fight the flames from the outside and will only go inside if they have to.
The building burned three times last week was marked with a red "X" on Monday.
