COATESVILLE, Pa - An arson investigation in Chester County has grown as another fire was set overnight.
At least 20 arsons in Coatesville are already under investigation, and the blazes have left the community anxious and on edge.
Fox 29's Claudia Gomez reported Thursday on the latest theory about who and what may be behind the string of set fires.
January has proven to be a popular month for arsonists in the town.
The latest happened overnight at an apartment house on the 1000 block of Olive Street, where someone climbed stairs to a second-floor porch and lit a fire.
Fortunately, the flames stayed outside the structure, and damage was limited to the overhanging porch roof.
Still, it terrified the residents inside. One man said he was sound asleep when something woke him up, he got up to go to the bathroom and that's when he saw the orange glow of the flames.
He ran outside, called 911 and started pounding on the building's exterior to notify the two women who lived upstairs. They heard the pounding but could not escape because the flames were blocking the door.
"I was passed out. And when he was banging on the door and screaming, my friend, my girlfriend, she's like, ‘Wake up! Wake up! There's a fire!' It was in seconds, it was fast. The only thing I was thinking was grab the red thing, the fire extinguisher, and start spraying the fire," says tenant Shaira Rivas.
They told Fox 29 News that a hero police officer from Caln Township arrived with a fire extinguisher. One of the women also grabbed an extinguisher, and they started spraying the flames, allowing them to get out.
This blaze occurred on the opposite side of Coatesville from the other recent fires, but it did happen at night like the others.
Fires have been set over the past year in trash cans, on porches and, in one case last year, proved fatal, claiming the life of an elderly Holocaust survivor.
The investigation into the blazes continues.
"We need all 10,000 residents to help us. And together we'll have 20,000 eyes and 10,000 ears and we'll be able to put this behind us,” says Coatesville Police Chief William Matthews.
Police think they may be dealing with a serial arsonist and perhaps a copycat.
Residents believe they may be part of some kind of gang initiation, and investigators are looking into that possibility. |
