Neighbors who live near Conneaut Lake Park are on edge tonight. There have been four suspicious fires, in less than three weeks. The latest happened this morning. All of the fires occurred on the same street, Reed Avenue. All occurred at vacant structures with no utilities.
"We continue to investigate and gather information about all of these fires," said Assistant Chief Pete Albaugh, Summit VFD.
Albaugh does not think the same person set all of the fires. He would not release any information beyond that. He is asking neighbors to be vigilant and to watch for unusual activity.
"They need to just pay attention," he said.
The latest fire was only a quarter mile from Conneaut Lake Park. Darry Walker lives on Reed Avenue. He says the neighborhood has been very quiet since the park has been open only on weekends.
"I think somebody's doing it for a thrill," he said. "It's summertime. They've got nothing better to do. Unemployment is pretty high. People aren't working. I think that has a lot to do with it."
Walker says he and his neighbors are worried that whoever is setting the fires may target an inhabited home next time.
"Eventually, they will get caught," he said. "They will do something stupid and somebody will catch them."
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