Investigators: 8 Arsons Connected

Investigators on Wednesday were searching for the person responsible for a string of south side arsons.

According to fire officials, eight fires were deliberately set during the past two months.

One homeowner said he was targeted twice, 10TV’s Maureen Kocot reported.

“She’s going to be heartbroken when she comes and finds out most of the things she owns on earth (are) burned up,” homeowner Lloyd Stevens said.

Stevens said that he was storing his neighbor’s belongings in his Reeb Avenue garage, which burned shortly after 5 a.m. Wednesday morning.

Investigators said that they believed the same person set Steven’s front porch on fire on Dec. 28. A barking dog alerted the sleeping family inside, Kocot reported.

“I call him the ghost, because he moves through the alleys without us seeing him, but he’s only going to do it so long, and he’s going to slip up and we’re going to catch him,” Columbus arson investigator Jeff Broughton said.

The Blue Ribbon Arson Fund said it was offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction of the person involved in the arsons.

Stevens said that his wife is too scared to sleep while the firebug was still on the loose.

“She started sleeping downstairs every night since then,” Stevens said. “The tiniest noise and she springs awake and looks out the windows.”

Arson investigators said that they planned to meet with neighbors and block watch groups on Wednesday night about how they could help to catch the person involved in the fires.

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