Ohio Fire Chief On Vacant Home Fires

In Youngstown, Ohio, the Youngstown Vindicator recently ran a story on Fire Chief John J. O'Neill Jr. and his comments on the reasons for fires in vacant structures.

• O'Neill said some arsons are a form of vigilante justice when structures on the demolition list are burned by those who want to clean up their neighborhood and don't want to wait for houses to be torn down. Sometimes, kids torch vacant houses "for kicks," he said. Other causes include squatters who light fires to keep warm, those involved in drug activity, and people who take copper pipes and wire, he said.

He asks for patience from local residents stuck living next to vacant eyesores that are scheduled to be demolished and asks that they not set them ablaze instead. For more, see A plea on arson: Stop (Each year, the city typically has 400 structure fires, half deliberately set). copper metal theft zebra