BRUNSWICK, Ga. – A $10,000 reward is now being offered after two suspicious fires were reported within a block of each other just minutes apart in Brunswick.
Both fires in Brunswick's Arco neighborhood are being called arson by the county fire marshal.
Firefighters got a call around 4:30 a.m. Thursday about the first fire, which was on 10th Street (pictured below). A man walking in the area told them about a second fire on Whitlock Street around the corner.
So far, investigators said they do not have any idea who set the fires, and they said they do not have any tips from the community that have generated any significant leads.
"If we have someone running around setting fires, it could endanger the citizens' lives and firefighters' lives," Glynn County Fire Marshal Jerome Johnson said.
Johnson said arson also impacts what people in the area pay for insurance.
People in the area are worried that whoever set the fires could strike again.
"They could want to take this to a deeper level and start setting houses on fire that people live in -- or cars," said Christina Cummings, whose husband told firefighters about the second fire. "It's a scary thought."
Cummings said her husband heard a loud whooshing sound and then saw the house on Whitlock Street burst into flames. That's when he went to get the fire department.
There's a church next door on Whitlock Street and homes nearby and across the street, and neighbors said they're just glad the fire didn't spread.
Fire investigators said they believe that both fires are the work of an arsonist because no one has lived in either home for some time and neither has working utilities.
Cummings, who has three children, said the night after the fires was tough.
"I couldn't go to sleep," she said. "I think I slept altogether two hours. Every time I fell asleep, I was woken up. I was terrified there was somebody out lurking in the road, looking at houses. … I hope they catch somebody, so I can sleep at night."
Others living in the area agreed.
"I hope they catch them, because we can't live with people like that around this neighborhood," Pablo Vetancourt said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Georgia Arson Hotline at 1-800-282-5804. Callers can remain anonymous and could be eligible for the $10,000 reward.