PHOENIX
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Police have taken six teenagers into custody to question them about five suspicious fires this morning, all located within the same two-block area of a 3-alarm apartment blaze.
According to police, witnesses in each case said they saw teenagers running from the scene. Police said they caught the teens along a canal in the area, where they believe the teens were hiding. The youngest teenager is an 11-year-old and the oldest is 14 years old.
The first fire broke out in an apartment building near 15th Drive and Highland Avenue at about 4:40 a.m. Monday. Police believe all the fires -- one structure fire, two car fires that damaged a total of four cars, and two separate debris fires -- were related and intentionally set.
About 200 firefighters responded to the blaze at the vacant Park Lee Apartments. The 3-alarm fire moved to the attic, which the entire building shares, and spread quickly, firefighters said.
Police said witnesses saw some children lighting trees and grass on fire just before the apartment blaze started, and then running around the area.
Police were establishing a perimeter in the area just south of the fire when an officer observed a second fire in the carport of an abandoned apartment at 4600 North 17th ave.
The officers also saw several juveniles running south, away from this third fire.
Teens Questioned In 5 Early Morning Fires
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