Fire officials are trying to find the arsonist who set a car on fire at 4 a.m. yesterday, said Capt. Steve Saltsman of the Columbus Division of Fire.
The car, a Ford Mustang, belonged to Emory Harris, an OSU student who lives on 133 E. Lane Ave. He said a mass of papers, which included newspapers and phone books, were placed underneath his Mustang and lit on fire, igniting his vehicle.
“The Mustang burned to the ground,” Harris said.
Saltsman said he could not yet comment on details of how the fire was started.
The fire spread to two other cars beside the Mustang, a Nissan and a Plymouth, said Kelly McGuire, spokeswoman for the Columbus fire department.
Harris said the Plymouth also belonged to him.
Saltsman estimated damages to be more than $20,000.
There were about $14,000 worth of damage to the Mustang, $12,000 to the Nissan and $4,000 to the Plymouth, Maguire said.
Harris said he awoke to someone banging on the window, saying the parking lot was on fire. He then walked to the parking lot hoping to drive his car away, when he discovered it was his car on fire.
The car was bought last October, according to Harris.
Saltsman said although it was premature to make any judgments, he did not see any connections between the car fire and the fatal April 13 fire on 17th Avenue.
