Monday, October 11, 1999
Building fires set, officials suspect
Street is scene of repeated blazes
BY TOM O'NEILL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Two suspicious blazes at a North Fairmount apartment building Sunday have fire investigators concerned that a string of fires is related and an arsonist is getting braver.
The latest, at 5:06 a.m. Sunday, started in a first-floor apartment at 2601 Cummins St., causing $20,000 damage, Cincinnati District 2 Fire Chief John Zompero said.
The tenant was not home. Smoke was pouring from the apartment when firefighters arrived.
At least one elderly woman who lives upstairs was helped out of the four-story building by firefighters.
Arson apparent
The building was the site of another fire in 1997, in which four Cincinnati firefighters were hurt, including Lt. Jerrold Ware, 31. He was critically injured when he fell from a top-floor window.
Before the 5:06 a.m. Sunday fire, a small blaze apparently set in a hallway at 2601 Cummins was reported at 2:40 a.m.
No suspect was identified.
Another District 2 fire chief, Ron Davis, said there have been 15 to 20 fires in that neighborhood in recent months.
All appeared to be arson but they caused less damage than Sunday's fire, he added. Several were in outside garbage cans.
He said arsonists were getting more aggressive and investigators were studying whether any of the fires were related.
No one has been hurt, but residents Sunday said they are increasingly concerned.
The building, at Cummins and Dempsey streets, overlooks the Western Hills viaduct. A narrow alley separates 2601 Cummins from the apartment building next door.
Debris in street
About 2:30 p.m. Sunday, firefighters were dispatched again to 2601 Cummins following a call from a neighbor. This time, an unidentified man apparently threw charred items from the apartment building into the middle of the street. He fled before authorities arrived.
The debris nearly caused an traffic accident.
Jeffrey Gist, 35, of Forest Park, was driving a van with 10 children when he saw the debris and slammed on the brakes. No one was injured. The group was returning from services at Mount Paran Baptist Church in Mount Airy.
“I had to lock up (the brakes),” an upset Mr. Gist told neighbors. “The people in this neighborhood need to take some action, fight back. This is wrong. These people don't deserve this.”
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