Investigators have determined a Wednesday night row home fire in York -- which displaced 34 residents -- was caused by arson, according to York City Fire/Rescue Services Acting Chief David Michaels.
"We believe there to be at least three points of origin where fires were started" inside a vacant in the 100 block of North West Street, he said Thursday.
There are no suspects at this time, and York City Police will handle the search for the arsonist, he said.
Several weeks ago, firefighters responded to the same home for a fire, Michaels said.
Residents said the first floor had been boarded up for some time, and Thursday morning, a weathered yellow sign stating that the property was uninhabitable could be seen affixed to the front door.
The fire, which was called in to York County 911 around 9:55 p.m., caused about $300,000 in content and structural damage to the five homes in the 100 block of North West Street.
Two firefighters suffered minor injuries in the fire, one for heat exhaustion and the other for burns. They were treated at York Hospital and released, Michaels said.
On Thursday morning, residents returned to comb through the wreckage and salvage their belongings.
Adam Motter, 35, tried to add some levity to the tragedy.
"There's a big hole (in his roof); I've got a big skylight now," he said.
Motter said he, his wife and six of their
children were outside watching fireworks when a neighbor told them their home was on fire. They rushed inside to rescue their infant who was sleeping.
Motter said he did not have renter's insurance but that his fellow Mennonite church members had offered to help.
"We have a couple who said we could stay with them," he said.
Stephanie Rader, 38, said she and her fiance, Keith Logan, 40, were inside their home, while their eight children were outside.
"They came in because they saw smoke," she said. "I looked out the window and flames were already pouring out."
Rader said her home is inhabitable, except for the third floor.
Rebecca Harris, 43, who lives in the 100 block of Manchester Street, said she was on her deck cooking when she saw what looked like a candle in a rear window of the home where the fire began.
"Then it got bigger and bigger and bigger," she said.
She called 911, while her boyfriend Preston Jackson, 47, went to get the exact address so she could relay it to dispatchers.
"This is sad, real sad," she said, as she looked at the charred homes Thursday morning. "All those people's hard-earned money. All those memories. The good part is nobody got hurt."
Michaels said that when firefighters arrived, the fire had a good head start, with four of the five homes already burning.
"The first thing (we realized) is we needed additional resources," he said.
With manpower from about nine other fire companies on the way, city firefighters went inside the homes to attack the fire, Michaels said.
They also positioned themselves in an alley just south of the fire, concerned flames and embers might jump over it to another row of homes, he said.
In addition, numerous power lines prevented firefighters from using aerial trucks to fight the fire from above, although they compensated by using hand-ladders, Michaels said.
It took about two hours to get the fire under control, he said.
The Red Cross provided food and clothing to 34 residents -- 14 adults and 20 children. Eight families were provided with hotel accommodations and two people were given medications. Food and water also were provided to more than 100 emergency responders at the scene.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
