Following three separate building fires and a spat of dumpster blazes in the Collins Park area of Miami Beach within eight days, officials have pretty much deduced it's the work of an arsonist. Though fire officials and police don't know who is behind the fires or why, they're pretty sure all four are related.
"I think it's comfortable to say that this is obviously an intentional act. We're not going to speculate to who or what motive," Miami Beach firefighter Javier Otero told Just News.
"This is a pure case of demolition by neglect, and we think it's arson because this just doesn't happen," said Mayor Matti Herrera Bower, echoing the arson assertion.
"It's interesting that these fires occurred on the top floor, which makes the roof cave-in and that leaves the building not protected," she told WSVN.
The fires have only hit neglected building, trash cans and dumpsters, and no one has been hurt, but officials fear that if the fires continue, it's only a matter of time before more than just abandoned concrete is charred.
The latest building, on 20th Street and Washington Avenue, went up in flames last night at around 10 p.m. It follows another blaze just blocks away in an abandoned hotel. The Tyler Apartments, also nearby, went up in flames on February 8.
Five dumpster fires in the area have also been reported.
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