New Castle Authorities, Residents Fed Up With Arsons

Posted: 6:37 am EDT July 14, 2009Updated: 4:43 pm EDT July 14, 2009

NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- New Castle residents joined their community's fire chief in expressing their fear and frustration after a fire erupted in another vacant house Tuesday morning."It's very frustrating," said New Castle Fire Chief Tom Maciarello. "I'm at a loss for words right now."The most recent fire brings the total of suspected arsons to 13 this year.Tuesday's fire started at about 3:30 a.m. at a vacant home at Oak and Ray streets. Firefighters let the house burn to the ground, using water only to make sure it didn't spread to nearby homes.Officials said the house was on a list of vacant homes to be torn down in New Castle.Channel 11 News spoke with New Castle Police Chief Tom Sansone, who said they have not determined if the fires are connected or unrelated."Several of them, in the way they start, seem to be connected -- the same (Lower East Side) area or manner they start them in and the accelerant they use," Sansone said. "In other ones, it's totally different so it's our opinion some of these fires could be related (and) some may not be.""We think we may be looking for more than one person in these (arsons)," he said."(Whoever's responsible is) trying to stay one step ahead of us," said Maciarello. "He's going to slip up sooner or later."New Castle City Council is pushing for a resolution to make it law where property owners have to register a house abandoned within a year, or they could face fines. Money collected in fines could help tear down other dilapidated properties.New Castle police are also increasing their patrols in the Lower East Side where most of the fires have been set. They are asking residents to be their eyes and ears on the street.Many neighbors have seen enough as it is, though. "(It's) unsettling. It is something we have to continuously worry about," said neighbor Brandi Lykins. "I know there is a vacant house behind my garage and another one down (the street).""It makes me real nervous," said Tina Hoffman, neighbor. "I had to up my homeowners insurance in case that caught on fire to protect myself. So it's very nerve racking."The house's owner, Janis Tummavichakul, arrived at the scene while the home was engulfed in flames Tuesday morning."This is so detrimental to the community," said Tummavichakul. "We, as residents and homeowners, have to be exposed to this and live in fear not knowing what victim is going to be next."The flames came just hours after neighbors met to address the town's arson problem. At that meeting, residents raised the reward to $3,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for setting the fires.

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