Arson devastates Edgewater family’s home; arrest warrant issued
CLEVELAND (WJW) – There are new developments in a troubling arson investigation, that began over the weekend with a fire that caused a total of $700,000 in damage along a quiet street in Cleveland’s Edgewater neighborhood.
Investigators say it turns out the suspects who set fire to a home early Saturday morning, were caught on video setting a smaller blaze at the same home the night before and then came back to finish what they started.
FOX 8 has learned that arson investigators have now issued an arrest warrant for a person of interest in the case.
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Cleveland firefighters were called to the home in the 1200 block of West 106th Street just after 2:15 a.m. on Saturday, after a neighbor called 911 and told the dispatcher, “there’s a huge house fire, their house is literally burning down in front of me. Can someone please get here right now?”
The young couple that lives in the home were able to grab their seven-month-old son and escaped the smoke and flames.
The fire spread to their vehicles in the driveway and to the houses on both sides of the burning home.
Unfortunately, the family’s dog perished in the fire, but on Monday, they learned that their cat had somehow survived.
Fire investigators quickly determined that the blaze, which destroyed nearly everything the family owned, was an act of arson.
“It’s scary, you know what I mean? I think that it’s a concern for us certainly, and that’s why our fire investigators are going to make sure they take this thing all the way,” said Cleveland Fire spokesman Lt. Mike Norman.
It was during the initial arson investigation and a check of nearby surveillance cameras, that authorities discovered the arsonists set the porch of the house on fire approximately 24 hours earlier.
Surveillance video shows at least two suspects were involved in setting the first fire early Friday morning.
We are told that among the motives for the arson now being studied by investigators, the possibility that the suspects were seeking revenge for what they perceived as an earlier grievance.
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Authorities say it appears that after Friday’s fire failed to spread to the inside of the home, the suspects came back on Saturday morning.
“You saw the damage they did when they came back the next night. I mean, it’s a tragedy for that family,” said Lt. Norman.
Northeast Ohioans, touched by the plight of the young family have donated more than $50,000 to a GoFundMe page.
Fire investigators have placed a high priority on bringing the arsonists to justice.
“They’re a threat not only to the citizens that we serve, but they’re a threat to firefighters. Fires are dangerous. Any fire that we go to fight, we take it very seriously and when we get these fires that are intentionally set, that are arson, we’re going to pursue them,” said Lt. Norman.
Investigators are asking anyone with additional information about the arson to call the Cleveland Fire Investigation Unit at 216-664-6380 or to contact Crime Stoppers.
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