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String of arsons grows
Jeremy Taub would never have bought the newly constructed house in South Bexar County if he'd known that someone had torched three unfinished houses on the same street four months earlier...Roused by a neighbor at 3 a.m., Taub and his wife carried their 2-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son from their beds and stood in the street to watch as the flames, carried by the wind, gutted their own house...In June, residents reported seeing two cars outside a home under construction on Arkansas Oak moments before it burned down. Less than two weeks later, someone reduced two more unfinished homes on the same block to rubble. The wooden frame of Taub's soon-to-be house also was charred in that blaze, prompting the builders to knock it down and rebuild it, Maris recalled.
| String of arsons grows |
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| Brian Chasnoff EXPRESS-NEWS STAFF WRITER |
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| Publication Date : October 24, 2006 |
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Jeremy Taub would never have bought the newly constructed house in South Bexar County if he'd known that someone had torched three unfinished houses on the same street four months earlier.
But it wasn't until he moved in with his wife and two children last month that neighbors informed Taub, 33, of the block's incendiary history, he said.
Early Sunday, history repeated itself.
Someone set fire to yet another unfinished house next to Taub's home in the 3000 block of Arkansas Oak in the Heritage Oaks subdivision, investigators said.
Roused by a neighbor at 3 a.m., Taub and his wife carried their 2-year-old daughter and 1-year-old son from their beds and stood in the street to watch as the flames, carried by the wind, gutted their own house.
The Harmony Volunteer Fire Department responded within about 15 minutes of receiving the call from the county dispatcher. A neighbor said it took 30 minutes for firefighters to arrive, a time span that might have been caused by a delay in routing the call from the city dispatcher to the proper fire department, officials said.
No one was injured in the blaze, but it sparked a passionate response from residents who are fed up with whoever's responsible for the recurring arsons.
"This isn't a game anymore," said Shannon Maris, who lives with her two young daughters across the street from the targeted row of houses. "Whoever's doing this knows what they're doing. They enjoy what they're doing. And now it's personal."
Investigators had no leads Monday.
"Right now we don't know what a motive would be," said Chris Lopez, arson investigator for the Bexar County Fire Marshal's Office.
Lopez added it's a hallmark of some firebugs to strike an area more than once.
In June, residents reported seeing two cars outside a home under construction on Arkansas Oak moments before it burned down. Less than two weeks later, someone reduced two more unfinished homes on the same block to rubble. The wooden frame of Taub's soon-to-be house also was charred in that blaze, prompting the builders to knock it down and rebuild it, Maris recalled.
Monica Taub, 28, Jeremy Taub's wife, was concerned Monday that no one from Pulte Homes, the builder of the damaged homes, had told him about the previous arsons before he purchased the house.
"It would have made us think twice about buying the house," she said.
A media release by Pulte Homes stated, "We are working with the family to secure alternative housing and assist them with relocation immediately."
In response to Monica Taub's criticism, Patty Spangler, vice president of operations for Pulte Homes, noted the arsons in June had targeted only unsold homes under construction.
"This is kind of a new dynamic," Spangler said of Taub's destroyed home.
After the second fire in June, Pulte Homes contracted a security firm to patrol the area from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., seven days a week. Security staff were on duty and "all regular nightly procedures were followed" when Sunday morning's blaze occurred, according to the media release.
The company plans to meet with the Bexar County Sheriff's Office to discuss how to prevent future arsons, the release stated. Pulte Homes is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the fires.
Monday morning, the Taubs stood outside their burned home. A toy Frankenstein still dangled above two pumpkins on their porch -- Halloween decorations for a home that would see no trick-or-treaters this year.
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Timeline
June 5:
Someone sparks a fire that destroys an unsold home under construction in the 3000 block of Arkansas Oak.
June 15:
Someone burns down two more unsold homes under construction next to the first torched home.
Oct. 22:
Someone sets fire to another unfinished house. High winds spread the flames to the Taub family's new home next door, gutting it. | |
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