DETROIT – Some neighbors on Detroit’s east side believe someone was intentionally setting fires in their community.
The latest one happened Friday (June 23) morning at a vacant home on East Warren Avenue, near Moran Street.
“There is an arsonist in the neighborhood,” said Linda Garbutt, whose mom’s home is in arm’s reach of the vacant house.
Her mother, who is disabled, wasn’t home at the time, but Garbutt’s brother was inside.
The fire did cause some damage to Garbutt’s mother’s home.
Garbutt said it was the second fire at the vacant house in the last three months. She believes the vacant home on the other side of her mom’s house could be next to go up in flames.
“My mom is scheduled to come back in two weeks, and right now, my main concern is the next house next door and the tree. So I have to get someone over here today to cut those trees down, so it has no direct path to my mom’s house,” Garbutt said.
Neighbors said there had been numerous fires at homes on East Warren Avenue and surrounding streets in the last six months.
“I believe it is not just one person,” said Ms. Dee with 48207-11 Grassroots Detroit. “It might be a group of people. We haven’t caught them yet, but we are going to catch them.”
The community organization has been working to get help for homeowners.
Group members said they recently hosted officials from the fire department at their community meeting.
“It’s hurtful that this is going on, and this can be out in a blink of an eye,” Ms. Dee said, referring to the possibility of people losing their homes because of fires.
Garbutt is afraid that an innocent person will be seriously hurt or killed.
“How many of their constituents do they need for something to happen to them before they do something,” Garbutt said.
