Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, May 24, 1990 TAG: 9005240697
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: By LAURENCE HAMMACK STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Fires were reported Wednesday night at 4314 Delray St. N.W. and early this morning at 655 Day Ave. and 1017 Chapman Ave. S.W. No one was injured.
Authorities are investigating the following reports:
The first fire was reported Wednesday night at 4314 Delray, where resident Harry Harris was charged with attempted arson.
When authorities arrived, they found that paper had been ignited in front of a bedroom door. The fire was put out before it caused serious damage.
An elderly resident of the home told police that he had gone to bed in the room and was awakened later by the smell of smoke. Authorities said the suspect had apparently been drinking and was "extremely disorderly," and had to be forcibly removed from the scene.
At about 1:30 a.m. today, fire broke out in a vacant home at 655 Day Ave. S.W. Authorities believe that the fire was set.
The blaze, which destroyed the vacant house, also caused about $25,000 in damage to an adjacent home at 657 Day Ave., authorities said. The residents of the house were home at the time, but were not injured.
And at about 3:14 a.m., Gary Trout woke up to find the bedroom of his Chapman Avenue apartment filled with smoke.
Although Trout escaped unharmed, authorities said the blaze caused about $30,000 in damage to the two-story apartment building. Most of the damage was confined to a rear staircase.
Police said the owner of the building has told them that he has seen juveniles playing with fire outside the building in recent weeks.
by CNB