Brooklyn, New York Apartment Tenants Concerned Over Recent Arsons

Four intentional fires have been ignited at 550 Ocean Ave. in Flatbush since Aug. 22, and frightened residents are now wondering how long it will be before one of the blazes spreads into a fatal inferno.

"Our lives are not safe here," said Colleen Edwards, a resident of the building for 14 years. "I'm so scared the whole building will go up in flames and people will get killed."

All of the fires were started between 10 p.m. and 4:30 a.m. � occurring on the first, second, third and fourth floors of the six-story building, Edwards said.

Most have been limited to the closet holding the trash chute, but one particularly violent fire on the fourth floor spread to the ceiling and burned up a large section of the hallway.

"No one sleeps since the fires," said Theresa Powell, 53, who lives with her daughter and three grandchildren. "It's so frightening."

Last week, the tenants of the 36-unit building rallied volunteers for a midnight watch to catch the fire-starter in the act. But Edwards said the next blaze was set at 10 p.m. � apparently to thwart the volunteer patrol � leading many to suspect the arsonist lives in the building.

"It has to be someone in the building," she said.

The Fire Department would only say the fires are under investigation.

A contact phone number in the lobby for the management company of the building, 550 Ocean Avenue LLC, led to a real-estate company in Manhattan. A secretary denied the company managed the building and then hung up.

"We've never had these fires before, and I've been here 14 years," Edwards said. "Now we've had four fires in one week. That's very scary."