DAYTON — People do not know what’s going on after multiple cars were set on fire within days of each other in a Dayton neighborhood.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 11:00, a woman said two of her cars were burned in less than a week.
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As previously reported by News Center 7, Dayton firefighters responded to several vehicle fires in the area of West Riverview Avenue and Bridge Street since Wednesday, Nov. 19, according to Assistant Fire Chief Brad French.
News Center 7’s Malik Patterson said a silver car and the one behind it on West Riverview Avenue were damaged.
He reports that either one of these cars was set on fire or caught fire from a car next to it.
Vicki Parks said this all started late Tuesday.
“Someone set it on fire, and then after the police and the fire, people came and put it out,” she said. “About an hour later, my neighbor’s car down the street caught on fire.”
She called her insurance, filed the claim, and got a rental car on Wednesday.
Then on Friday, three more cars caught fire.
“Then, when they put that out, they came around the corner here,” Parks told Patterson. “This is a rental car. I went and got a rental car. That car caught on fire.”
She told Patterson that she has lived here for 35 years and has never seen anything like this.
Parks is worried about her insurance.
“I’m afraid my insurance is going to go up or they’re going to drop me,” she said.
Patterson contacted both the Dayton Police and Fire Departments.
The fire department said that investigators are looking into each case because each fire was intentionally set.
Parks and her neighbors who lost cars said they have not slept well because of this.
“Sitting up, looking out my window, watching,” she said. “Now, I’m scared of death to get a car. I don’t know if I’m scared of parking in front of my house, you know, I don’t know what to do.”
Each said that they refuse to let whoever is doing this scare them.
“I’m not letting them scare me away,” said Parks. “No, no.”
Dayton Police told Patterson that they will release more information later this week.
They said there will be more patrols in this neighborhood.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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