Ionia Fires

[iloveionia]

There have been so many fires on Ionia or on it's corner in this last year that everyone is getting them confused.

Here is some clarification:

455 E. 7th Street burned 3/23/09
Russell Thomas owns
"unknown cause"

17something Ionia burned 1/2/09 (garage apt.)
(don't know address, so don't know owner)
"heater plugged into faulty extension cord"/per fire chief

1721 Ionia burned 5/18/10
Tarpon IV LLC owns
"cigarette"/per fire chief

1715 Ionia burned 7/23/10
Russell Thomas owns
"unknown cause"

Others/appraisal records and visual look I know are gone/fire:

451 E. 7th sometime in the last 8 months
Russell Thomas owns

447 E. 7th Street sometime in 2009 burned
Deborah Jones owns

445 E. 7th fire damage, currently unsecured and open
Luke Stokes et. al owns

Further down Ionia:
1352 Ionia burned due to fire, Nov. 2009
subsequently demolished

3 fires in the last 1-2 years have been on homes owned by Russell Thomas. Either this man has bad luck, or something is awry. That was the point I was making.


Additionally, in regards to Tarpon IV LLC, they own several "homes" in Historic Springfield. This LLC is not an asset to Springfield.

404 W. 7th Street
Demolished due to neglect

1721 Ionia
boarded for years, burned due to fire in June 2010

1540 Clark
Empty lot, can't confirm a house was there

1323 Ionia
demolished due to neglect, year: 2008

1430 Liberty
on the eminent danger list
"Formal Track for demolition"

1647 Pearl
on the eminent danger list
"Formal Track for demolition"

[jbm32206]

The properties owned by Russell Thomas, that have burned are indeed, suspicious in nature. I've heard various stories relating to some of them...such as ties to the his wife's boyfriend, and also to drug dealings. Either way, this property owner isn't good for our hood at all.

[fsu813]

JSO says they think they caught the guy responsible for the 4 fires on Ionia. They can't say for sure, but they caught the suspect directly after the last one, b/c of thier fast response time.

JSO doesn't invesigate arson, however, that's up to a branch of the fire departmnt, I believe.

Either way, they found a crack pipe on him.

[cottagepiech]

wonder if he got the crack pipe at the Liberty BP?

[Julie Anne]

Did they state why they think this is the arsonist? Just being in the area with a crack pipe does not make it clear?

[Chris Farley]

Yes they said the fires were arson.
The houses were all owned by the same people.
The police responded so quickly to the call on this latest fire they caught this man at the house. The crack pipe was really a side issue. When they apprehended him he threw it to the ground. Due to this they could arrest him, otherwise arson fires are handled by the fire marshall.

[EAkers]

Good...Put his but in the same cell with Dusty the firebug lady to spend their life there Arson.

[iloveionia]

agreed.

[crissiecudd]

I heard fire trucks this morning and smelled wood smoke when I left for work. Please tell me we didn't lose another home.