A man, known as a "nuisance," has been arrested after a suspicious fire early Sunday in Gloucester City, New Jersey.
Tito Diaz Jr., Credit: Gloucester City Police
The fire began around 3 a.m. inside an abandoned home and quickly spread to three nearby homes along the 400 block of Market Street. It took nearly three hours for firefighters to get the fire under control.
NBC10 spoke with one woman who says she woke up to the fire on the other side of her bedroom window.
"I was sleeping and I just happened to look up and I saw flames by the window," said Crystal Jolly. "By the time I got to the steps, glass started breaking."
Jolly says she heard firefighters banging on her door as they tried to evacuate the multi-family home.
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"I was scared," said Jolly. "Scared for my life."
Police arrested Tito Diaz Jr. for the fire. Jolly and other neighbors claim he's a nuisance, known for starting trouble and sleeping in abandoned homes.
"He's constantly coming in and out of the window in the basement," said Jolly.
Diaz is charged with causing widespread risk of damage and defiant trespassing.
"I could have died over that," said Jolly. "I hope he goes to jail for a long time."
Nearly a dozen people, including Jolly and her mother-in-law, were displaced from their homes. The Red Cross tells NBC10 that they are assisting three families from nearby homes.
No one was injured.
The city demolished the home where the fire began. On Monday, structural engineers will be sent to the scene to determine if two more homes need to come down.
