More than 100 fires broke out over the Fourth of July weekend in Detroit as arsonists torched houses, garages, vacant stores, apartment buildings, playscapes and even a clothing donation box, Steve Neavling reports on Motor City Muckraker.
The three-day weekend rivaled last year’s Devil’s Night, a 35-year Detroit tradition of setting houses ablaze, when about 110 fires were recorded over a three-day period ending on Halloween.
While far less publicized than Oct. 30, the 4th of July for years has been a day of heightened fire activity in Detroit; some of the blazes are attributable to errant fireworks, but many incidents are deliberately set.
The fires hit the depleted department hard, lengthening response times and sending rigs far from their usual districts.
The fires posed a significant challenge to a city dangerously short on firefighters and equipment. Nearly all of the fire department’s aerial and tower trucks – vital to fighting big fires – are out of service.
