'It was so close to the house': tenth suspicious fire at Lehigh Acres this month

Early in the morning on Tuesday, May 14th, firefighters put out a brush fire at a vacant lot in Lehigh Acres.

Fox 4’s Austin Schargorodski talked with investigators as soon as he found out about the fire— they believe it’s part of a series of ten fires that all started suspiciously.

Charred trees and brush spanned the entire length of the lot on the corner of Ruth Avenue N and 56th Street W, getting close to a nearby house.

Austin Schargorodski

Chris Cochran, who lives down the street from where the fire happened, said he was surprised to see firetrucks when he walked outside in the morning.

“It’s kind of scary that it was so close to the house,” Cochran added.

Austin Schargorodski

Lehigh Acres Fire Control and Rescue District’s PIO, Katie Heck, said a nearby homeowner called them just before 5 a.m. because embers were falling in his yard.

Heck said their firefighters arrived to put out the fire by 6 a.m. She says they determined it spread from a porta-potty that was set on fire.

“This is cause for alarm because this is now the tenth fire we’ve had in this concentrated area in just the past month and I believe it’s the fifth or sixth in the past week,” said Heck.

Austin Schargorodski

Heck said the fires are suspicious because their investigators ruled out the possibility of lightning or another natural cause starting them.

“Sometimes we do have fires caused by someone throwing out a cigarette or you know, just doing other types of behavior that could start a fire. But, these specifically have been labeled as suspicious because they’re all happening in those early morning hours and in that concentrated area,” Heck explained.

Austin Schargorodski

Heck said a homeowner sent them surveillance footage showing a truck entering and leaving the area just before the fire started. She said they don’t know if the truck is related to the fire, however, their investigators are still working to identify the owner.

“Hopefully residents that live around those areas will go back into their surveillance because a lot of people have home cameras or just ring doorbells— to go back to that timeframe to see if there’s anything out of the ordinary or maybe they do see the same truck go by— and we would love to have copies of that footage,” said Heck.

If anyone has surveillance footage or info that could help them find a suspect, Heck said to reach out to CrimeStoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS.