By David A. Fahrenthold, The Washington Post
A small fire early this morning in Northeast Washington has been classified as the 30th in a series of similar arsons in the District and Prince George’s County, authorities said.
The fire was set about 2:45 a.m. on an outside wall of a home in the 1700 block of 24th Street NE, just outside the gates of the National Arboretum. Chester Sasser, 53, who was watching a movie in the home’s basement, smelled the smoke and put most of the fire out himself. Sasser and his wife, 56-year-old Ida Collins, escaped unharmed.
This afternoon, officials from the Prince George’s fire department said that the 24th Street fire was the latest in a string of arsons that began in March. Eleven of these fires, not including today’s, have been conclusively linked as the work of one person or group.
Today’s fire ends a month-long hiatus in the arsons, following another fire in Northeast October 8. This is the second-longest period between spates of the fires, following a two-month layoff between July and early September.