PILSEN — Following seven devastating arsons in Pilsen Friday, another suspicious garage fire was reported early Tuesday.
A garage located in an alley off South Leavitt Street between West Cermak Road and West 22nd Place in Heart of Chicago caught on fire just after midnight Tuesday, according to Claudia Lucero, whose family owns the home. Already boarded up, the garage was still radiating heat from the fire Tuesday afternoon.
Lucer said her mother was in the home when police knocked on the door, alerting the family that the garage was on fire. Police told her a neighbor called 911, Lucero said, who was called to the home by her parents shortly thereafter.
No one was injured in the fire, Lucero said. As of Tuesday afternoon, Chicago Fire officials did not respond to requests for comment.
The garage and Lucero's car, which was housed inside the garage, are totaled, she said.
Lucero doesn't know if the recent arsons are related.
"I don't want to speak too soon, but hearing the stories of the seven garages [destroyed], why so many? Is something against the people of Pilsen?" she asked. "It's terrible."
Fire officials have not said whether they believe the Tuesday garage fire and the seven arsons Friday are related.
Around 3 a.m. Friday, nearly 100 firefighters and police responded to calls of separate fires around the Pilsen and Heart of Chicago neighborhoods. The seven blazes left one man dead and 25 people displaced in Pilsen. Officials believe the seven fires were set intentionally because of the fire pattern, proximity and times, according to Chicago Fire spokesman Larry Langford.
The Friday arsons were set in a 45-minute period, investigators revealed Monday.
In these incidents, unknown offender(s) ignited materials in garbage cans or items left in the alley. In some cases, the fire spread to garages or homes, police said. Investigators do not yet know if the fires were set by one or multiple suspects, according to Officer Kevin Quaid, a Chicago Police spokesman.
The man who died after he was found unresponsive inside a garage in the 2100 block of West 21st Street early Friday has not yet been identified, according to the medical examiner's office.
Neighbors with surveillance video cameras near the fire sites or individuals who may have a description of suspicious person(s) or vehicles near the sites is asked to call investigating detectives at 312-746-7618.
The early Friday fires come after other recent fires in the neighborhood this summer. On July 20, a fire broke out in a residential building at 2036 W. 21st Place, displacing 18 people. On July 22, a fire at 21st Street and Hoyne Avenue near the Damen Pink Line tracks displaced a musician who was away on tour.
An eighth recent garage or structure fire was reported early Tuesday in the alley near 22nd Place and Leavitt. [DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay]
An eighth recent garage or structure fire was reported early Tuesday in the alley near 22nd Place and Leavitt. [DNAinfo/Stephanie Lulay]
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