Investigators looking into 2nd arson downtown

Chief not sure if single suspect is to blame

A fire on 16th Street destroyed an abandoned 14-unit apartment complex Friday. Officials have called it arson.

The second consecutive blaze downtown this week was ruled as intentionally set, authorities said.

Fire crews were called about 12:51 a.m. Friday to a fire in a 14-unit, two-story apartment building at 120 16th St. near Monroe Street.

The building was boarded up and apparently abandoned, according to the fire department. No injuries were reported.

The blaze raged for several hours. Firefighters extinguished the fire by 4:30 a.m., at which time demolition crews started razing what was left of the building. The fire damage was estimated at $50,000, according to the fire report.

The Lucas County Auditor's Web site lists Toledo Catholic Bishop Leonard Blair as the owner of the building since January, 2007. The building dates back to 1892.

Sometime late Wednesday or early Thursday, a building at 420 14th St., between Adams and Jackson streets, was also destroyed by an arson fire, according to the fire department. The building was believed to be vacant. No injuries were reported.

The Lucas County auditor's Web site lists Cole Charneal as the owner of the building, which was built in 1917.

Said Toledo Fire Chief Luis Santiago when asked whether fire investigators thought the same arsonist was responsible for both fires:

"We considered that they [the arsons] are very closely related, but we haven't come to that conclusion."