While fighting the fire, one firefighter injured his ankle inside the structure. He was carried by a stretcher, but was back on the scene shortly after he was carried out of the house.
“We have a home that’s been vacant (with) no power as far as electric. I have not found a gas meter either, so we do not believe this was accidental,” Springfield Fire/Rescue Division assistant fire chief Brian Miller said. “Two young men were spotted on bicycles near this structure and fled. Shortly after that we had smoke and fire.”
Miller said there are two witnesses, possibly persons of interests, that were spotted on video from a nearby furniture store that will be brought in for questioning next week.
This fire comes about two weeks after Springfield Police Division officers arrested a 13-year-old boy for starting three garage fires in the same neighborhood in about 10 minutes.
Miller said his department is noticeably busier when kids are on summer vacation.
“Two-thirds of vacant structure fires are set by adolescents. We have reports of juveniles in the area, and its a vacant structure. It fits the statistics,” Miller said.
Charles Cox lives two doors down from the vacant home that burned. He said garage fires in Springfield are nothing new and remembers a 10-year-old boy who police charged with arson when he was a small child.
“It happens a lot,” Cox said. “I’ve actually seen kids play with fire and they shouldn’t be doing that and it leads to stuff like this.”
He said as a child he enjoyed playing with fire and matches, but as he’s grown older and become a homeowner he’s matured.
“You had to grow up to learn,” he said.”
He said kids do not realize the amount of damage they are doing when they start these fires.
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