Hamilton fire officials seek help with suspicious North End fires

A pair of North End garage fires appear to be suspicious because they happened close together and at the same time. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

A pair of North End garage fires appear to be suspicious because they happened close together and at the same time. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

Fire officials in Hamilton are seeking tips that may help them find a person or people who they believe set suspicious fires in a pair of North End garages minutes apart on Monday, at about 10:40 p.m.

The garage blazes were in an alley behind the 1200 block of Vine Street.

“They were not homes, they were garages off the alley,” said Hamilton Fire Chief Mark Mercer. “We called the fire investigator in last night to check those out. No apparent cause, so it’s one of those things: If you can’t figure it out right away, you have to go further into the investigation.

“I know that we’ve had a few other fires in that area, and he does not feel like these two are related to the other ones, but these two are obviously related to each other — they were minutes apart, or actually, probably at the same time, and just a few houses apart.”

Mercer said officials have not yet found any witnesses.

“We’d really love to keep our neighborhoods safe, and we encourage people, if they see something happening, call because there’s a fire, but also share the information if they know anything about who was there, a description and what people were wearing, or anybody who hangs out in the neighborhood who is suspicious.”

People with tips can call fire investigator Trevor Snider at 513-785-7510.

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