Praising the firebug

TOLEDO, Ohio (WUPW) - Toledo residents have seen others get emotional over this year's vacant house fires.

But get this, there are some actually praising the firebug.

On FOX Toledo's Facebook page, when it comes to the person or persons responsible for a series of arsons in the area, some commented that the firebug is doing the city a favor.

Someone else made a comment by saying these fires should be a wake up call to the city to tear down abandoned buildings, but residents in one Central Toledo neighborhood disagree.

"I think it's absolutely the wrong way to go about it because there's definitely a process they can go through," said Ray Benson.

Back in March, Benson lived right around the corner from a boarded up house on Parkwood Avenue, that read "Tear Me Down." On that same avenue there were more than 10 boarded up houses.

A few months later that house was gone.

"I'm glad to see it gone," Benson said.

But it wasn't a suspected arsonist that got rid of two houses on Parkwood Avenue. Rather, it was the city.

"It was a great thing to see the houses were torn down and the city filled in the holes, Bendon said. "I’m pleased."

Although the city tore down one Parkwood Avenue and another one a few doors down, there are still houses on the block neighbors say they can do without but setting them on fire is not an option.

"Setting fires to properties that's empty, that's not an answer," said Lorena Johnson, lives next door to one of the houses the city demolished.

Johnson said it took the city about five years to do it, but it's better to wait instead of putting someone's life in danger.

"Only thing I did was just kept calling them and asking them to at least come clean it up keep it boarded up and just clean it up," she said. "That's all you can do."