COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Fire investigators once again were concentrating their efforts on the city's South Side.
NBC 4's Tom Brockman reported with INSIDER INFORMATION Thursday.
While investigators continued to investigate Wednesday night's suspicious fire, a suspect in more than a dozen other area arsons escaped custody.
It's a familiar South Side scene: Columbus fire crews rushing to the scene of a fire at a vacant building.
Columbus fire was called to a vacant building at 45 W. Barthman Ave. just before 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Witnesses saw someone running from the area about the same time the fire began.
"It looks like there might be two spots that were set in there," CFD Battalion Chief David Whiting said.
Officials told Brockman they believe the fire was suspicious in nature and was certainly not the area's first arson.
Fire officials said there have been 19 South Side fires that either have been ruled arson or officials classified as suspicious. That's just in 2009 and doesn't take into account dozens of similar fires in late 2008.
"The biggest connection we have is that everything's been vacant," Whiting said.
"It gets a little spooky sometimes," Michael Grinch said. Grinch works next door to the latest fire scene.
"Mostly, they seem to be house fires, fortunately, so we haven't been too worried here at the business. Now that they've hit the warehouse, I think you said, might be a little more concerning," Grinch said.
Fire officials confirmed Thursday a second suspect in the South Side arsons escaped police custody recently. A first suspect escaped a couple of weeks ago.
"We don't know where they're at. We don't know if they're in town or out of town. So, we'll start there with trying to determine where people are at and go from there," Whiting said.
No additional information on the escaped suspects was available currently.
Anyone with information on the South Side arsons or the escaped suspects was encouraged to call CFD at 614-645-3011.
For additional information on this developing story, stay with NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com -- Where Accuracy Matters.
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