Vacant house fire may be part of string of suspicious blazes

A two-alarm fire in Mercer County on Wednesday night is sparking fears that an arsonist may be at work in the area.

No one was hurt in the blaze at an abandoned building in Sharon, but authorities say it looks suspicious. Last week, another vacant house burned just down the street.

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The fires are among about 15 suspicious fires in Sharon this year, with perhaps just as many occurring last year. And while the fires seem to be set in vacant buildings, those buildings are often near occupied homes.

"For a city of our size, we're only a population of 14,000, and we've had roughly 118 fires,” said fire Chief Bob Fiscus. “Now, not all those are arsons, but a great deal of them were.  The trend is scary when it comes to the safety of the citizen and the safety of the firefighter."

Police and fire officials called a news conference on Thursday to ask the public for help finding the person responsible before someone is hurt or killed.

"This year alone, we've had, I think, 19 fires (and) 16 were suspicious in nature," Sharon police Chief Gerald Smith said. "How the public can help us is we're asking everyone to be vigilant."

Anyone with information on any of the fires is asked to call police.

Cox Media Group