Pocono News Section

Neighbors React to Halloween Fires

Neighbors React to Halloween Fires - Monday, November 2, 2009 at 6:05PM EST

Reported by: Jeremy Deebel
Monday, Nov 2, 2009 @ 06:05pm EST
Williamsport, Lycoming County-

Williamsport police and fire officials are investigating two suspicious fires in the city. They happened within an hour of each other Halloween night. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

Randy Brungart, of Redersburg, lamented, "Whoever's doing this here has total disregard for human life. They obviously do not care."

Neighbors are outraged by the fires that have plagued Williamsport in recent weeks.

At 7:45 Saturday night, a garage on Third Avenue went up in flames. Brungart's son and daughter-in-law are fixing up their house next door. Heat from the blaze ruined their new windows and siding.

Brungart said, "They spent thousands of dollars remodeling the inside of this house, with the windows and everything. To be destroyed, it's senseless."

Then, just about half an hour later, a double block home on nearby Park Place went up in smoke. No one was home at the time. Neighbors here were evacuated as a precaution.

Landlord Terry Probst, who owns the building, explained, "I guess I'm more disappointed than angry. I mean, who am I going to be angry at? I don't know who did it."

Probst has insurance and says he will likely rebuild. He hopes he never experiences a night like this again.

Probst noted, "The city's putting more police on. They've got them on bicycles. But how do you catch somebody doing something like that? It's tough."

Those affected by the Halloween night blazes say they'll try to do a better job looking out for one another, and hopefully put an end to these dangerous fires.

Jennifer Scott, of Williamsport, added, "I know my kids were terrified, especially with seeing one an hour before that just down the street too. They're scared, and they shouldn't have to be scared to worry about their house burning down while they're sleeping."

A third fire Saturday night on the porch of a home on Cherry Street in the city has been ruled accidental. We're told that blaze was caused by a discarded cigarette butt.