Officials Suspect Arson in Indiana Structure Fires

NILES, Ind. -- Apparently, someone, or several people, is setting fire to buildings in Niles, prompting concern although officials on Monday held off pushing the panic button.

A string of fires early Monday damaged four properties on the north side of town, one of them occupied, and sent a Niles city firefighter to Lakeland Community Hospital for treatment for overexertion. Property damage was extensive, with at least one if not all the properties likely to be listed as a total loss.

On the heels of the March 14 arson fire that destroyed the Niles FOP Lodge, the fires fueled speculation that whoever burned the lodge -- also on Niles' north side, but on the opposite side of the St. Joseph River -- was perhaps responsible as well for the Monday morning fires. But Mayor Mike McCauslin cautioned against such speculation.

The mayor warned also against jumping to conclusions, pointing out investigators had yet to officially determine whether Monday's fires were purposely set.

"We should always have due diligence (and) be protective of our homes but let's wait to get information and go from there,'' he said.

Niles Fire Capt. Don Wise said Monday's first fire call was received at 3:25 a.m. and involved a fire at a vacant house for sale at 1603 Cass St. A city police officer was on the scene "within a minute,'' Wise said, and found flames shooting through the roof.

About 45 minutes later, another fire was reported at 1329 Louis St., on the opposite side of Niles High School and just a few blocks from the house on Cass Street. Wise said a city fire truck was dispatched from the Cass Street fire and a call was issued for mutual aid, with firefighters from eight area departments eventually responding before the night would end.

The fire on Louis Street appeared to have started in a garage where two vehicles had been parked. Flames consumed the garage and vehicles and spread to an attached residence, occupied by two grandparents and two grandchildren, Wise said.

Fortunately, he said, the grandmother "heard a pop'' and the family managed to escape without injuries. The flames spread from there to the residence next door at 1319 Louis, where police and firefighters believed an elderly woman was inside, Wise said.

Although it later was determined the woman wasn't home, a search of the house led to chest pains for the city firefighter who had responded earlier to the fire on Cass Street, Wise said. The fire captain reported the firefighter was still at the hospital Monday afternoon awaiting the results of tests.

Michelle Gruszynski, a resident of a house next door to 1319 Louis, said she and her boyfriend also believed her neighbor was home when the fires broke out. They rushed to her aid, she said, and heard something fall inside but later discovered the sound was something other than the woman.

The fires have put the family on edge, she said.

"It's real scary. ... They're almost sure it was arson,'' she said, referring to investigators.

Just 10 minutes after the fire on Louis Street, Wise said yet another fire was reported at a vacant structure at 13th and Wayne streets, just around the corner and a block and a half away from the houses on Louis Street. Firefighters didn't clear the area until 7 a.m.

Investigators aided by a Michigan State Police canine unit trained to detect accelerants went from one fire scene to the next Monday, combing through the ruins. An official determination isn't expected until later but the time frame was reason enough for suspicion, Wise said.

"We never have this many fires in one day, let alone in that amount of time,'' he said.

Like the mayor, Wise warned against panic. But he also asked that anyone observing suspicious activity or with knowledge regarding the fires contact city police at 269-683-1313.

Copyright 2012 - South Bend Tribune, Ind.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service