MACON, Ga. — Four fires ignited in four different vacant homes in a 24 hour period, and all of them were within a couple of miles of one another in the area near Eisenhower Parkway.
Macon-Bibb fire crews were able to quickly put the fires out, but people are worried.
The Bibb County Fire Department is currently investigating all four fires. Right now, they can't determine if they were set intentionally, or by accident.
For arson to be considered, they would need to prove all four houses were intentionally and maliciously set on fire. They have not proved that yet.
Larry Richards lives on Macon's Ell Street.
"It really don't make no sense. It's hard to figure out. Why this street anyway," asked Richards.
He says he was sitting on his porch right before an abandoned house across the street caught fire.
"I went in the house to check on my mom, and when I come back out by like five minutes, it was lit. I saw the fire coming out the back of it," Richards said.
He watched as four fire trucks arrived to put out the fire on 764 Ell Street. Bibb County fire investigator Kyle Murray says it was the neighborhood's fourth fire since Tuesday night.
"I believe they were all done by the same individual just because of their close proximity, but we do have problems when it comes winter months with vagrants in abandoned homes," Murray said.
The other three fires happened at abandoned homes on Central Avenue, Ell Street, and Daley Street. Investigators say they haven't found anyone who saw what happened at those locations.
"I ain't ever seen anything like this. One up the road, one across the highway, and one across the street," Fedrick Smith said.
He wasn't home when the fourth fire happened, but he lives next door.
"Don't come back and set that one on fire, because I have my family here and my kids in the house and they'll burn and I don't want us to get burned up. I just hope they catch the person who is doing it," Smith said.
The first three fires happened within an hour of one another. All four houses were vacant, and no one was hurt.
Both Murray and Richards said crews responded to a fire at the first Ell Street home within the past two months. It was ruled accidental because of a cigarette.
"He has set too many fires in the neighborhood lately, but they need to catch him," Richards said.
One neighbor said they frequently see a homeless man visiting the area, and suspect he is the man who could have started the fires. Again, authorities have not determined whether the houses were intentionally set on fire.
If you have any information, you can share tips anonymously by calling Georgia Arson Control. That number is 1-800-282-5804. They offer up to a $10,000 reward for helping solve a case.
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