Police and firefighters are working to track down a serial arsonist who they believe is responsible for a string of eight or nine suspicious fires in the Hazardville section of Enfield, Connecticut, three of which were discovered on New Year's Eve.
Now, neighbors are on edge.
"I was bringing my trash barrels out and I looked over there and the flames were higher than the house, so I called 911," explained Enfield resident Nancy Bailey, who said she was getting ready to leave for work around 5 a.m. when she spotted the orange glow on Elm Street.
It's the second fire at this vacant home, and authorities believe an arsonist is behind it.
According to Enfield police, crews were at the scene investigating the house fire around 11:30 a.m. Thursday when they received the report of a suspicious car fire around the corner on Avon Street.
Just hours later, around 9:15 p.m., a woman living two houses down from the site of the first car fire noticed her own vehicle had also been burned.
Police said they believe the person responsible for these fires is one and the same. They've been chasing an arsonist in connection with fires at vacant buildings set over the past few months, including one at a former photo studio on Elm Street in August and three others over three days in November.
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Although all the buildings burned have been vacant, Bailey said the fires have raised hackles around the neighborhood.
"It's terrible. I sleep in the living room sometimes, looking out the window, like I did last night," she said. "We're always looking out the window, always looking out the window wondering who's doing what."
Bailey added that she's surprised the arsonist has kept it up, with the police station right down the road. She said she wonders how far the culrpit will go.
"What's going to stop him from breaking into a garage if they want to go that far?" she asked.
Police said they have identified a person of interest but have not yet released any information about the individual.
"It's terrible. I'm hoping they get caught pretty soon," Bailey said. "We've never had anything like this before. Never."
