There were years when the city fire department responded to more than 300 calls for arsons at vacant houses.
But thanks to what fire officials say is an increased emphasis on demolition in recent years, the department handled just 52 arsons last year at vacant homes and another nine at vacant buildings for a total of 61 arsons in vacant structures.
Capt. Kurt Wright, the department’s fire investigator, said the demolition in the city decreases the stock of available homes for arsonists to torch.
The city had 100 arsons in 2017, 126 in 2016 and 195 in 2015.
In the past three years, the city has knocked down 1,748 vacant homes. In 2018, the city, the Mahoning County Land Bank, private contractors and the city’s street department in the form of emergency demolitions combined to knock down 646 buildings.