ST. LOUIS — A garage caught fire early on Thursday morning in the Benton Park West neighborhood, followed by another fire just a block away.

“I woke up about 4:45 a.m. I saw the orange glow through my blinds. I opened the curtains and the whole garage was up in flames so I called it in,” said Brittany Schweiger, her neighbor. 

Schweiger stated that the police and fire departments responded within five minutes. Her Ring camera caught the suspect entering the garage and setting the garage on fire. Neighbors stated there has always been a lot of activity concerning the garage.

“It had a whole kind of back. And it was really used for storage so people were constantly in and out. Our ring looks right into it, basically. So, we were always seeing folks come in and go. Nobody seemed to be staying there long-term or anything like that but there was definitely a lot of activity in the alley,” said Brittany Schweiger, a neighbor. 

The fire caused the siding of nearby houses and garages to melt and burned the electrical wires, causing AT&T to come out for repairs. Neighbors stated they have not lost power but have no access to the internet.   

Later that same morning, just a block away, city police reported a suspicious fire on the second floor of a vacant home. While it is not yet confirmed if the two fires are related, neighbors expressed off-camera concerns about their homes, with the arsonist still at large.

We reached out to St. Louis Police to see if they would increase patrols in the area to alleviate the residents’ fears,  but they have not responded. Police are asking anyone with information concerning either fire to contact the bomb and arson detectives at 314-444-5701.