2 house fires intentionally set

By Eva Ruth Moravec in The San Antonio Express-News
Firefighters were called to a vacant home just south of downtown in the 3100 block of South Flores Street around 6:15 a.m.where flames could be seen shooting out of the back of the home.

Two South Side homes were intentionally set on fire Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, officials said, and San Antonio police arrested a 51-year-old woman suspected of starting one of the fires that destroyed her house.

Donna Stilling Ferguson, 51, is being held in Bexar County Jail on one count of arson of a habitation in connection with a fire that destroyed her home in the 200 block of West Formosa Boulevard around 7 p.m. Wednesday.

San Antonio Fire Department Capt. Pedro Garza said when firefighters arrived, Ferguson was belligerent and rambling. She finally told arson investigators and firefighters she started the fire, Garza said.

No one was injured in the fire, which was started by a match, according to the fire department. The home was declared a total loss.

About 12 hours later, Garza’s crew was called to a vacant home just south of downtown where flames could be seen shooting out of the back of the home.

Garza said no one was inside the home, located in the 3100 block of South Flores Street around 6:15 a.m. Thursday when the fire started.

The one-story house was tidy inside and its water and electricity had been turned off, leading Garza to believe the fire was intentionally set. He estimates the fire caused an estimated $30,000 in damages.