An abandoned house on Red Oak Street in Charleston caught fire twice over a two-day span, leaving neighbors angry and concerned. The first fire was Friday, July 6. The second fire happened Sunday, July 8.
John Hutchinson’s house is just a few feet away from the abandoned house. He said the fires left him feeling on edge.
“I keep watching out the window to make sure it’s not on fire,” Hutchinson said.
The siding of another home on the street began to melt due to the close proximity of the fires.
Hutchinson and other neighbors said they often see squatters come in and out of the house, and even noticed a tent pitched in the backyard.
“It’s not safe, it needs to be torn down,” Hutchinson said.
Mike Shank, captain of the Charleston Fire Department Bureau of Fire Prevention, said the fires will be ruled undetermined because there is no power or gas in the house, but fires in abandoned houses are typically caused by people entering the house and using small fires to cook or keep warm.