Flames damage vacant school

Fire crews responded to two arsons on the same street over the weekend.

STAFF REPORT

YOUNGSTOWN — City firefighters said someone tried to burn down the vacant John White School at 1061 Lyden Ave.

An emergency cell-phone call brought crews to the building at 4:25 p.m. Saturday.

The fire was confined to an area at the back of a classroom. Firefighters said a bookcase and various papers and binders were burned, and a wall and part of the ceiling were scorched.

The loss was estimated at $3,000.

Firefighters found one window near the fire location closed but not secured.

The first crew on the scene had to cut open a chained door to gain access to the school, which is now being used as a storage facility by the city school district. Firefighters said they were told the building may soon be demolished by the district.

They were called to a second arson on the same street at 11:45 p.m. Sunday.

Fire was discovered in the vacant, two-story house at 904 Lyden Ave. but was quickly extinguished by firefighters who said they found a small gas can at the scene.

Damage was limited to about $2,000.

Five minutes after arriving at the fire call to 904 Lyden, city firefighters received a cell-phone emergency call alerting them to a blaze at 93 Rutledge Ave.

Flames were visible in the front room and attic area and coming out of the roof when the first crew arrived. They had to force open a back door to gain entry.

The cause of the fire, which started in a den, is under investigation. Damage is estimated at $9,000.

Firefighters said the house is owned by Terrence Wigfall of Oak Street, who was in the process of remodeling the one-story structure and told authorities that he has no insurance on the property.