ST. LOUIS — A search is underway for an arsonist who may be responsible for a string of suspicious fires in one north St. Louis neighborhood.
The St. Louis Fire Department calls the suspicious activity a "fire bug."
There have been 20 fires in the Ville Neighborhood in North St. Louis since the beginning of the year. They're all happening in vacant homes and businesses.
Several of them have been set on the same street.
Four fires have occurred on St. Louis Avenue in the past two months, the most recent occurring at a vacant home on Thursday.
The Fire Investigation Unit and St. Louis Police Bomb and Arson Squad are working to determine who or what is starting these fires.
"That's a tremendous amount of fire activity, and that's a tremendous amount of work for the St. Louis Fire Department," Chief Jenkerson said.
Residents say they're fed up with the fires that keep happening.
"It's just getting out of control. It's all over the neighborhood. It's happening more recently, more recently. The more it happens, the more it gets out of control," a resident Patrice Pierce said.
Pierce said he hopes officials can do something about the recent fires.
"You have residential folks, taxpayers like myself, who might stay next door to a vacant building, and you have squatters in there who are not supposed to be there, setting the place on fire, doing all types of nonsense," Pierce said.
Chief Dennis Jenkerson said they're trying to determine if these fires are being set intentionally.
"They're suspicious fires. There is no electricity or gas in the buildings, so how did these fires start? That's what we're looking at. We're trying to get a good angle on it and see if we can pin this down on a group or an individual," Chief Jenkerson said.
Another resident, Donald Moore, wants to see these burnt buildings cleaned up.
"It's been traumatizing. I wish they would come in and clean up the other buildings because, you know, children walking to school," Donald Moore said.
The community here wants to see their neighborhood get back to normal.
"We're all sick of it and fed up with it," said Pierce.
Police say they haven't found any suspects yet but continue to search the area for any evidence of arsonists.