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Suspicious Fire Hits Home in Dilworth: House Blaze is Latest in String That Firefighters Call Intentionally Set

Posted on: Friday, 19 May 2006, 12:10 CDT

By Cleve R. Wootson Jr., The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

May 19--An early Thursday blaze that caused $3,000 in damage to a Dilworth home is the latest of more than a dozen intentionally set fires over the past five months.

Most of the fires were set on Diana Drive and Dorothy Drive in southern Dilworth. Firefighters responded at 1:08 a.m. to Olmsted Park Place, one block from Dorothy Drive.

A neighbor phoned 911 before the homeowner even knew there was a fire, said Capt. Rob Brisley, Charlotte Fire Department spokesman. The flames damaged Mike Cheeseman's siding and wooden steps and woke him up when the fire cracked the glass on his sliding back door.

Fire investigators visited the community in early May to encourage neighbors to keep flammable objects out of their yards and away from their houses.

The previous fires have ranged from a heavily damaged $800,000 home under renovation to small brush in front of houses.

In early May, neighbors talked about setting up a watch system and investigators released a description of the suspect -- a small-framed person, possibly white with blond or brown hair -- but have made no arrests.

Fire investigators encourage anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at (704) 334-1600.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Charlotte Observer, N.C.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)

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