Warren has three suspicious fires in eight hours

WARREN — The city was hit by a rash of three fires in eight hours Monday night, all of them with suspicious origins.

The first one was at 6:05 p.m. at 358 Charles Avenue Southeast in which two adults and two small children made it out safely from a fire that caused $43,000 in damage.

The fire started on the back porch and damaged he kitchen and dining room. A smoke detector in the basement was sounding when firefighters arrived.

“They lost everything,” Warren Fire Chief Ken Nussle said.

The American Red Cross put the family up in a motel. They were renters and had no renter’s insurance, Nussle said.

At 1:42 a.m. Tuesday, a fire destroyed an detached garage at a home at 2231 Stewart Street NW that had been unoccupied for quite a while, Nussle said. Amount of damage was $12,000.

The fire did not damage the house, but it damaged a neighbor’s fence. There were no utilities in the garage.

At 2;40 a.m. Tuesday, a vacant house at 352 Austin Avenue Southwest went up in flames. The home was a total loss of $25,000. A firefighter suffered a wrenched back in that fire, Nussle said.