A NEIGHBORHOOD IN FEAR

Lorain – Residents in Lorain have feared for a while that an arsonist might be on the loose – but residents on North Central Drive say that they are now afraid to go to sleep at night.

Lorain Firefighters responded to two vacant building fires Thursday night, both in the 800 block of North Central Drive. The first fire was located in the living room area of 824 N Central and was extinguished quickly. No damage estimate was given due to the fact that the building is slated for demo by the city.

The second fire call came in about an hour later at a quadplex a short distance away from the first. This fire was more extensive with heavy fire on two floors. Firefighters were able to extinguish the fire in just under an hour.

Fire Officials say that they discovered “several points of origin” and have deemed both fires as suspicious.

Neighbors praised the quick response and work by Firefighters for extinguishing the fires and not allowing them to spread to occupied homes, but say they are afraid that they might not be so fortunate next time. One neighbor who did not want to be identified said she hopes whoever is responsible is caught. “They have to find him before someone is hurt or killed. I know its been a lot of vacant buildings but what if a homeless person is in there or God forbid if one of the Firemen get trapped inside while trying to put it out. It’s just a very scary situation.”

TMC NEWS PHOTOS / BRIAN WOODS

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