Ind. Firefighters Are Concerned About Possible Arsonist

April 03--NILES -- Someone, or several people, is setting fire to buildings in Niles, prompting concern although officials on Monday weren't 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.

He also warned against panic but said "due diligence'' needs to exercised as always.

"I don't think it's cause for panic. We just need to go on about our business with a renewed eye for the safety of our neighbors,'' he said.

By 3 p.m. Monday, investigators had confirmed two of the three blazes indeed were the result of arson. As for the third fire in the 1300 block of Louis Street where two properties were damaged, however, Niles Fire Capt. Don Wise said it was listed as "undetermined'' because investigators weren't able to rule out a possible electrical problem.

Wise said the 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, 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 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 firefighter was released from the hospital Monday afternoon and is expected to return to work Thursday.

Michelle Gruszynski, a resident of a house next door to 1319 Louis, said she and her boyfriend believed like firefighters that their neighbor was home. 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 her 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. Just the short 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.

Staff writer Lou Mumford:

[email protected]

269-687-3551