A Duluth house fire late Monday night has investigators sifting through clues in what they've already deemed an arson.
The second floor is blackened in the two-story rental property at 522 N. 11th Ave. E., but signs of foul play are written in plain English. A crude threat appears in purple lettering on a porch post as well as a large front window in the home rented by Bryan Magariner, 16, and Marie Childs, 18, in the city's East Hillside neighborhood.
Magariner reported the fire shortly before midnight Monday after returning from a nightly walk with Childs and two friends.
Fire crews were on the scene for about two hours containing the blaze that blasted out second-floor windows and caused an estimated $80,000 damage, Duluth Assistant Fire Chief Bryan Bushey said.
Investigators spent Tuesday piecing together evidence, and the search for suspects is still open, said Jim Christensen, Duluth Police Department arson investigator.
"In all arson cases, you need to look at renters, owners, as well as potential third parties," Christensen said.
Property owner Michael T. Durand of Duluth said the fire came as a surprise because he hasn't encountered problems in the past with the tenants or the rental unit. Magariner and Childs moved into the house in mid-June. Admitting he and Childs both have strained relationships from the past, Magariner said things have been quiet since moving to the neighborhood.
"We didn't see this coming; this was an angry person with lots of hatred," said Magariner, who added that he and Childs provided police a short list of people that could aid in the investigation.
Mario Salute rents a house with three roommates next door. Salute was at home with one of his roommates and three friends when the fire broke out. Minutes after Magariner had warned him and his guests about the fire, Salute said he provided one of the early arriving police officers with a fire extinguisher to put out some flames in the first-floor living room of Magariner's house.
"We thought that was it," Salute said. "And then we looked upstairs and it looked like there was a light on or something... We ran behind the house and saw flames shooting out the back."
Investigators are not speculating on a motive, but Magariner said he has considered a few possibilities, including angry ex-lovers of his and Childs', as well as the fact that he is openly gay.
"There are people in the Duluth community who aren't accepting of my sexuality," Magariner said.
Even so, Christensen said, investigators are making no assumptions.
"Is this a hate crime? I don't know; maybe it's made to look that way," he said. "It's too early in the investigation to even know who this was directed toward."
