CLEVELAND — Cleveland Fire officials reported they have seen a 35% increase in the number of fires deemed arson so far in 2023.
Data from Cleveland Fire shows 115 arson fires have occurred so far in 2023, as of August 26. That's up compared to 85 over the same stretch last year.
"You see it for domestic violence disputes, we see it for revenge, we see it to cover up other crimes and we see it for profit," Cleveland Fire Battalion Chief Michael Vasquez said.
Vasquez told News 5 that arson is not just for buildings, almost half of the cases they've seen involve cars.
"Most of the cars we have fires on are stolen cars," he added.
It comes at a time when data shows car thefts have almost doubled in the city.
This past Saturday, Cleveland Fire investigated an arson where a 55-year-old man was found dead inside a house on fire on West 84th Street.
In that case, investigators confirmed to News 5 that they found the man inside dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, along with three of his dogs, also shot and killed.
RELATED: 55-year-old man fatally shoots himself, found in house fire
For Larry Howard, he still vividly remembers an arson right in front of his eyes back in April.
"It was just stupid," he said. "I came outside and one of my neighbors told me there was a guy walking around with a gas can. So that was suspicious. [He] came over here with the gas can, poured the gas on the car, set it on fire and then he was gone."
That intentionally set fire quickly spread to the nearby house, where Howard had to rush to save the family inside.
"I am knocking on the door trying to find out if [the family is] in there and they can’t hear back because they are all the way back there and they’re seniors," he explained. "So I had to really bang. I got their attention and got them out."
Thankfully, Howard told News 5 that police caught those responsible with the help of a neighbor’s camera.
"Burning cars or houses to destroy evidence doesn’t destroy evidence," Battalion Chief Vasquez said. "It’s still there. We’re still able to get evidence and find out who the suspect is."
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