GREELEY, Colo. (AP) -- Arson is suspected in three fires in less than a week at houses being built by non-profit groups for low-income families.
A fire Saturday morning destroyed a Habitat for Humanity house just two doors down from where fire destroyed another house being built by the same group.
Arson is also suspected in a fire in a house being built by Greeley Urban Renewal. A contractor working nearby extinguished that blaze before it could spread.
Greeley police and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation are investigating the fires , said Sgt. Joe Tymkowych.
Habitat for Humanity officials will meet with the families who planned to move into the homes and volunteers who helped the families with the construction.
``We build more than just affordable homes. We build hope,'' said Habitat for Humanity's Tom Chagolla.
Many families are afraid, wondering if their children will be safe, Chagolla said.
``If something was to happen to them, I couldn't go on,'' said Valerie Hernandez, 35, a single mother of two whose house was destroyed Saturday. ``They're the reason I do this.
``It broke my heart,'' she said.
Habitat for Humanity Volunteer Shirley Gross said she's more determined to build the houses.
``You can get angry or say, `We can't let this stop us,''' Gross said.
The Weld County Builder's Association will help rebuild the first Habitat home that was destroyed.
Hernandez had picked out shingles for the roof of her house and met with a garden consultant to design the landscape. She planned to give her 15-year-old daughter the master bedroom and take the smallest for herself.
``For someone to do this doesn't make sense to me,'' Hernandez said. ``I don't know that I want to understand it.''
