Lincoln Police believe an early morning apartment fire is related to two similar arson cases in the University Place neighborhood. Public Information Officer Erika Thomas says just before 2:00 Wednesday morning LPD and LFR crews responded to a fire an an apartment building near 49th and Walker Avenue.
“The fire started in the stairwell and neighbors extinguished the fire and helped evacuate residents before crews arrived,” Thomas says. The fire caused an estimated $1,300 in damage. “The preliminary investigation by the fire inspector determined this may be related to the fires on Saint Paul Avenue as they are similar in nature,” Thomas says.
Those fires occurred less than a half mile away near the Nebraska Wesleyan campus and each time the carpet in the stairwells was set on fire. The first two fires earlier this month occurred in the same apartment building near 46th and St. Paul Avenue.
The investigation into all three fires is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call Lincoln Police at 402-441-6000. To remain anonymous, you can call Crime Stoppers at 402-475-3600, report online at lincolncrimestoppers.com or download the free P3 app.
(Chase Porter, KLIN News)