Overnight fires in St. Pete may be related

Monday, November 16, 2009

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Investigators examine one of fire locations.

ST. PETERSBURG (Bay News 9) -- Investigators in St. Petersburg are looking into three fires that occurred overnight that might have been set by an arsonist.

All three happened near Gandy Boulevard not far from 4th Street.

Investigators are trying to figure out if an accelerant was used to start one of the fires. The fire broke out at around 3 a.m. under a staircase at the Isles of Gateway apartments.

No one was hurt and the fire was put out.

A column at the same complex also caught fire on the third floor of another building.

"You could smell it really, really heavy," said Teri Krage who lives at the complex. "You could smell the smoke."

The third fire was reported at the Gateway Mobile Home Park, which is just blocks away from the apartment complex.

A shed filled with golf carts and other maintenance items burned to the ground.

Investigators believe the first two are related, but aren't 100 percent sure about the third. There aren't any official suspects, but investigators say they have a person of interest.