In San Jose, the local fire department is on the hunt for a firebug who may be responsible for intentionally setting 12 homes and businesses on fire since last Wednesday. The man has been setting the fires in the dark early morning hours using cardboard and newspaper as kindling, but has so far managed to elude authorities despite being spotted by witnesses and caught on security cameras.

One of the recent house fires broke out at a 100-year-old home around 4:20 a.m. Saturday morning while a couple in their 70s was sleeping inside. A jogger in the area alerted firefighters at a nearby station, but not before the two-alarm blaze caused an estimated $200,000 in damage. The couple managed to escape to safety when a neighbor was able to wake them up.

Authorities believe the same arsonist struck again around 5 a.m. on Sunday morning a few blocks away at the Greater St. John The Baptist Church. A storage trailer outside the church that had just been repaired after being torched by the same arsonist last Wednesday was found damaged by fire once again. Hours before the church fire, another suspicious burned a fence and some siding at home nearby.

San Jose Fire Department Captain Robert Brown warned residents in the area to keep their homes well-lit and monitored with motion sensors or smoke detectors. The department also released a composite sketch of the suspect, based on witness accounts and surveillance footage. The suspect is believe to be white or Latino, aged 25-40, about 6 feet or 6-foot-2, and weighing about 160 to 180 pounds. He has been spotted wearing baggy clothes, large frame glasses and is reportedly "very thin."

Now that residents on the East side of San Jose are on edge, one San Jose city councilman has started organizing neighborhood watches of local residents willing to stay up late and keep an eye on their neighbors' yards. There's a $10,000 reward offered for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the serial firebug.

[SJ Merc]
[Chron]
[NBC Bay Area]

(Courtesy: SJFD)