Arson suspected in string of NE Phila. car fires

NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA - October 15, 2012 (WPVI) -- Handicap accessible vans are vital to the PATH organization and now because of an arsonist, Jeff Brown says they have lost two vans.

"These particular vehicles are for people with disabilities, to get them to and from their daily programs, which is a must. It's somewhere they have to go and something they enjoy," said Brown.

Replacing the vans will take time and cost a lot money for the community organization.

"The difficulty is to get handicapped lift vehicles quickly. They take months to retro-fit to get to your doorstep," said Brown.

The two PATH vans were destroyed in one of several suspicious car fires that happened in a short span.

Authorities believe the string of arsons started on the 8200 block of Castor Avenue just before 3:30 Sunday morning.

In about 30 minutes the people responsible worked their way through a neighborhood of Northeast Philadelphia setting ablaze six vehicles in five separate locations.

Paul Sims - one of the victims - says his wife saw their Chevy Trailblazer engulfed in flames.

"I'd really like to get my hands on the person who did this," said Sims.

The ATF is hoping to get their hands on the person responsible too. They are asking for help.

"Get us the info, we'll track down. The most innocent seeming info that someone sees could be something for us to follow up on," said one ATF official.

Anyone with information is urged to contact ATF at 888-ATF-FIRE.

Meanwhile anyone interested in helping PATH to replace their vans can visit PATHCENTER.org.

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