ORANGE COUNTY, Fla.,None — Investigators are on the hunt for an alleged serial arsonist who they say has already torched three Orange County homes.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office said the suspected serial arsonist has set fire to three homes in the Shadow Hills community off Chickasaw Trail in the past week.
Authorities said the fires were set in broad daylight. The first fire was set on Friday. The other two went up in flames within just hours of each other on Tuesday.
Residents in the Shadow Hills community told WFTV they are on edge.
“That’s pretty scary,” said resident Daniel Ruiz. “Some kind of crazy guy out going around burning people’s houses down for who knows what reason it is, like does he have a personal vendetta? You don’t know,” said Ruiz.
Susana Gomez said there was not one thing she could salvage from her daughter’s torched mobile home.
“Everything is lost,” said Gomez.
Authorities said no one was hurt in the fires.
“I said thank God my daughter was not inside,” said Gomez.
Authorities scattered fliers across the community asking residents to be on the lookout for anyone suspicious.
Residents said they are not sure why anyone would do this.
“It may be a cry for help, or maybe something just popped loose upstairs,” said Ruiz.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office told WFTV the person who did this could face up to 30 years in prison and there is also a $5,000 reward for a tip leading to an arrest.
This isn't the first time Central Florida has seen the damage a serial arsonist can do.
Police said an arsonist has set more than 60 fires in Palm Bay since November of 2009.
No one was ever hurt in them and no suspect has ever been caught.