Three Overnight Waco Fires Deliberately Set

Waco police and fire officials are still investigating a possible link between three fires that occurred within three hours of each other late Tuesday and early Wednesday. Two of the fires, which occurred at vacant businesses on West Waco Drive and North Valley Mills Drive, were ruled as arsons early in the investigation Wednesday, fire investigator Jeff Wilhelm said. Waco police said both arsons occurred during overnight break-ins.

The third fire, reported at 2:25 a.m. Wednesday, destroyed a vacant house on the 1000 block of North 15th Street. Fire Marshal Jerry Hawk said the house burned to the ground within minutes of firefighters’ arrival. There were no utilities hooked up at the house, he said. It is being investigated as arson.

The business fires were described as “very minor.” There was no structural damage to the buildings from the fire, but items inside the stores were set on fire, Wilhelm said. He declined to say what items were set ablaze.

At this time, there is no evidence that the fires are linked, Wilhelm said, but investigators with Waco police and fire are still looking into it.

“The only night we’ve ever seen three suspicious fires this close together was the night the Sanger Avenue school burned,” Wilhelm said.

On the same night in October, the vacant Vittles restaurant, the historic Sanger Avenue Elementary School and the Townhouse Motel were set ablaze.

On Monday, Leticia Ruiz, 22, of Waco, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after she pleaded guilty to second-degree felony arson charges in a fire that damaged the Vittles restaurant at Waco Drive and North 23rd Street.

Ruiz’s 26-year-old boyfriend, Eric Damon Benavides, and 28-year-old Kevin David Allen have been indicted on first-degree arson charges in the Sanger school fire. The trial is set for June 29.

In the case of Tuesday’s overnight fires, Wilhelm said video surveillance of one break-in was taken from Games N Things, 1411 N. Valley Mills Drive, which the alleged arsonists burglarized.

Just after midnight Wednesday, a burglar alarm was reported to police at Games N Things, Waco police Sgt. Melvin Roseborough said.

Suspects broke into a rear door of a Chinese restaurant in the strip mall and attempted and failed to climb through the ceiling and into Games N Things, he said. The suspects then got into the now-vacant UPS store on the other side of Games N Things and broke a water line while busting through the wall to get into the games store, Roseborough said.

The suspects started a small fire in the UPS store, he said, and burglarized Games N Things before fleeing. It was unclear what was set on fire inside the UPS store and what items were taken from Games N Things.

“The damage is ‘Oh my God’ bad,” said Jessica Philpot, manager of Games N Things. “They broke down our entire wall.”

Earlier in the night, at about 11 p.m., police responded to a burglar alarm at Schroeder’s Auto/Video, 4415 W. Waco Drive, where the back door of the business was broken into.

Waco fire investigators have said items inside a neighboring business, at 4425 W. Waco Drive, were set on fire. Police are asking anyone with information about any of the three fires to call the Waco Police Department at 750-7500.
__________________________________________________________________________
Three fires kept firefighters in Waco busy overnight, and all of them appear to have been set. Flames struck a vacant two story house in the 1000 block of N. 15th St. at about 2:30 Wednesday morning. It took 30 firefighters about eight hours to put out the fire.

Police also believe that someone tried to break into Schroeder’s Auto Sound in the 4400 block of W. Waco Drive before setting it on fire.

Police also say some items were stolen from :Games and Things” on Valley Mills Drive a few blocks away, and then started a fire there.

Fire investigators are still trying to determine if the same people were responsible for the overnight fires.

KCENTV
______________________________________________________________
Fire officials are investigating the cause of a house fire in the 1000 block of 15th Street, early Wednesday morning. Firefighters arrived on scene at around 2:30 a.m. to flames shooting high into the air. Shortly after, the home collapsed, and there are reports that power lines were threatened from the flames.

Neighbors report hearing popping noises before calling 911. Ladder trucks were called in to help battle the fire.

The house was vacant at the time of the fire; no utilities were hooked up to the house.

There’s no word yet on what sparked the blaze, investigators were still on scene late Wednesday morning.
KXXV