Milwaukee arsons: $5,000 reward offered for arrests

RIGHT HERE ON WISN 12. RIGHT NOW THERE IS A $5,000 REWARD TO FIND WHOEVER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR SETTING 16 ARSON FIRES IN MILWAUKEE. INVESTIGATORS SAY THE FIRES BROKE OUT IN TWO AREAS YESTERDAY MORNING. THEY’RE PULLED UP HERE ON YOUR SCREEN, ONE NEAR NINTH AND LOCUST. THE OTHER NEAR 49TH AND CENTER. THAT’S WHERE 12 NEWS NICK BOHR IS LIVE TONIGHT. NICK. FIRE SET IN GARBAGE CARTS SPREAD TO NEARBY HOMES. RIGHT. AND YOU CAN SEE IT RIGHT HERE BEHIND ME. THE DAMAGE IS CLEAR. GARBAGE CART UP AGAINST THAT HOUSE THERE. IGNITED THAT FIRST HOUSE WHERE FAMILY HAD TO ESCAPE WITH THEIR LIVES. THE FLAMES LEAPING NEXT DOOR TO THIS HOUSE WHERE A RENOVATION WAS JUST COMPLETED RIGHT BEFORE THE FIRE. IT’S A TOTAL LOSS THE WAY IT IS NOW. SO WHAT DO YOU DO? BULLDOZE IT? I DON’T KNOW, MARY SPADAFORA’S HOUSE NEAR 49TH AND CENTER. HEAVILY DAMAGED BY FIRE. ONE OF FOUR HOMES DAMAGED IN A SERIES OF SIX TEEN ARSONS TUESDAY MORNING. MOST STARTED IN GARBAGE CARTS. A YOUNG CHILD SAID THAT THEY SAY WHOEVER THEY WERE PUT FIRECRACKERS OR SOMETHING IN THE GARBAGE CANS, AND THAT SET THE TWO HOUSES ON FIRE. IT’S ESPECIALLY PAINFUL BECAUSE MARY HAD JUST COMPLETED AN EXTENSIVE RENOVATION FOLLOWING ANOTHER RANDOM ARSON LAST YEAR THAT DESTROYED THE FRONT OF HER HOUSE. WHEN YOU FOUND OUT ABOUT THIS, WHEN YOU SHOWED UP YESTERDAY, I MEAN, WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST THOUGHT? UM, THAT’S A FOUR LETTER WORD THAT I CAN’T SAY ON TV. UM, I WAS JUST PRETTY MUCH DEVASTATED. I, I GIVE UP, I, I DON’T KNOW HOW TO DO THIS ANYMORE. I DON’T KNOW HOW TO PROTECT MY HOUSE. MARY IS GRATEFUL. NO ONE WAS HURT. BUT CAN’T HELP BUT WORRY ABOUT OTHERS WITH WHOEVER DID THIS. STILL ON THE LOOSE. I HAVE PITY AND PRAY FOR THE NEXT PERSON BECAUSE IT’S DEVASTATING. I HOPE NOBODY LOSES A LIFE BECAUSE THIS IS THIS IS SERIOUS. IT’S A SERIOUS PROBLEM. I THINK WE HAVE. WELL, NICK, WHAT ARE POLICE SAYING ABOUT THEIR SEARCH FOR THE ARSONIST OR ARSONIST? WELL, THEY SAY THEY DON’T HAVE ANYONE IN CUSTODY YET. THEY’RE CERTAINLY INVESTIGATING, ASKING FOR ANY SURVEILLANCE VIDEO FROM THIS NEIGHBORHOOD OR THE OTHER WHERE THE FIRES TOOK PLACE YESTERDAY. AND AS WE MENTIONED, OFF THE TOP, THERE IS NOW A $5,000 REWARD BEING OFFERED. AND ANYONE WITH INFORMATION CAN CALL THE WISCONSIN ARSON INVESTIGATION HOTLINE. THE NUMBER IS RIGHT THERE ON YOUR SCREEN. ONE 800 362 3005 AND RIGHT NOW ON THE 12 NEWS APP, THE FIRE

The fire chief said at least 16 fires were set, mostly in garbage carts. Several of the fires spread to houses, damaging four homes.

The search continues for whoever is responsible for a series of arson fires Tuesday on Milwaukee’s north side. The fire chief said at least 16 fires were set, mostly in garbage carts, between 7:30 and 10 a.m. Several of the fires spread to houses, damaging four homes. “It’s a total loss, so what do you do, bulldoze it, I don’t know,” said Mary Spadafora Tuesday as she looked at the extensive damage to her house near North 49th Street and Center Street.“A young child said that they, whoever they were, put firecrackers or something in the garbage cans, and that set the two houses on fire,” she said.It’s especially painful because Spadafora had just completed an extensive renovation of the house following another random arson last year that destroyed the front porch and damaged the front of the house. “I was just pretty much devastated, I give up, I don’t know how to do this anymore. I don’t know how to protect my house,” Spadafora said.Spadafora is grateful no one was hurt, but can’t help but worry about others, with whoever set the fires still on the loose.“I pity and pray for the next person, because it’s devastating,” she said. “I hope nobody loses a life. Because this is serious, it’s a serious problem we have.” Milwaukee police say they’re still investigating and don’t yet have any arrests. They’re asking for people with surveillance cameras in the area to review them and share the footage.The Wisconsin Arson Investigation hotline is 1-800-362-3005. There is a $5,000 reward for information.

MILWAUKEE —

“It’s a total loss, so what do you do, bulldoze it, I don’t know,” said Mary Spadafora Tuesday as she looked at the extensive damage to her house near North 49th Street and Center Street.

“A young child said that they, whoever they were, put firecrackers or something in the garbage cans, and that set the two houses on fire,” she said.

It’s especially painful because Spadafora had just completed an extensive renovation of the house following another random arson last year that destroyed the front porch and damaged the front of the house.

“I was just pretty much devastated, I give up, I don’t know how to do this anymore. I don’t know how to protect my house,” Spadafora said.

Spadafora is grateful no one was hurt, but can’t help but worry about others, with whoever set the fires still on the loose.

“I pity and pray for the next person, because it’s devastating,” she said. “I hope nobody loses a life. Because this is serious, it’s a serious problem we have.”

Milwaukee police say they’re still investigating and don’t yet have any arrests. They’re asking for people with surveillance cameras in the area to review them and share the footage.

The Wisconsin Arson Investigation hotline is 1-800-362-3005. There is a $5,000 reward for information.