TAMPA – “Is that a house?  Yeah, it’s a house… an empty house.”

The voices on the cell-phone video of the flames lapping at the skies over Tampa Heights this morning sounded scared, as not one, not two, but three separate house fires burned simultaneously.

“And Tampa Fire Rescue extinguished all of the fires very quickly,” said Debra Sue Warshefski, with Tampa Fire Rescue.  “And we did primary and secondary search in there and found no victims.”

But they did find an unmistakable pattern.

And within an hour of the first alarm (which TFR listed at 6:26 am) the Tampa Arson Task Force was activated.  And this area — a multi-block square bounded by MKL to the north, Floribraska to the South, and on the east and west by Florida and Highland Avenues — was essentially locked down, as cops combed the neighborhood for a fire bug.

“The Arson Task Force is comprised of the Tampa Fire Rescue, the State Fire Marshall and the Tampa Police Detectives from the Homicide squad,” explained Laura McElroy with
Tampa Police.  “So,” she continued, “they are all now working to solve these Arsons.”

Intentionally set fires, in vacant homes — at 3802 Arlington, 3810 N. Tampa and 3809 N. Highland.  That last address, the home most heavily damaged, is right next door to Willie Ruth Petterman’s place.

“It’s scary,” she told me.  It is frightening, because there are a lot of people coming up and down the streets.”

But on this morning, we’re told that Willie Ruth — and the rest of the folks living in this section of Tampa Heights — won’t’ have to worry.

“Well right now, this is probably one of the safest places in the city because we do have all three agencies here and we have a very active investigation going on,” said McElroy with TPD.  “It’s really just a matter of time until we catch this individual.”

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