On Thursday morning, October 19, at 8:05 a.m., a call came in to the North Royalton Fire Department regarding a house on Gabriella Drive that was on fire. It is believed that the fire was intentionally set.
“Smoke was coming from the eaves,” said North Royalton Fire Chief Bob Chegan. He said that once the Fire Department, Station 2, arrived at 8:08 a.m., they found that multiple fires were set in the home at 10023 Gabriella Drive. The house had been broken into and several fires had been set. The house was unoccupied at the time of the fire.
Arson is suspected to be the cause of the blaze. “It was pretty obvious from what we saw initially,” said Chegan. The Division of State Fire Marshal’s Fire and Explosion Investigations Bureau is looking for any information from the public regarding the fire.
Although arson is not a crime that takes place often in North Royalton, it is not totally uncommon. Several years ago, arson was the cause of a fire in a barn and two sheds in the city. Arrests were made of the person that committed those crimes.
“A reward of up to $5,000 is being offered by the Blue Ribbon Arson Committee for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for the fire,” according to the Ohio Department of Commerce.
The incident is currently under investigation and is being conducted jointly by the Marshal’s office, the North Royalton Police and Fire Departments and Southwest Emergency Response Team Fire Investigation Unit (SERT-FIU). Tom Habek, who is the Assistant Fire Chief of North Royalton, is a member of the that team and is instrumental in this investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to call the State Fire Marshal’s Fire and Explosion Investigation Bureau at 800-589-2728, the Cuyahoga County Crime Stoppers at 216-252-7463 or the North Royalton Police Department at 440-582-6216.
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer