I'm not sure what assistance has been requested. The City itself has been very "mum" on the whole thing, which is only fueling the conspiracy theories that this is somehow being done by the city.
Yeah, I figured at 10 it would be noticed, 20, and someone might be saying "WTF is going on in Mansfield?!" 30, I would have guessed that it was "SRSBIZNESS", and now that we've hit 40.... It's crazy.
We have lost over half of our Fire Department's employees since 2008. To me, I'm stunned that none of these fires have spiraled out of control, and burnt a block down. A New Map with all the fires.
If you look at the map I linked, Zoom in, so that St Rt 13 and 430 (Park Ave W) are "Crosshairs" in the center of the map. Everything in the South East of that, is a Low Income neighborhood. The houses are Wood, and close together. There are plenty of old Garages, and buildings, and small businesses. It's a pretty standard 50's / 60's neighborhood that has fallen into disrepair. On the South West of the 13/430 intersection, this neighborhood tapers off. Sturges St is really the "end" of that neighborhood. It's weird. Sturges is at the top of a hill (But really Mansfield is full of hills....) and as you reach the top of this hill and head west, the neighborhoods start improving.
As some Lurkers who know me can verify, Arthur Ave is getting pretty close to where I live. (I live near the hospital). For some of those fires, the smoke was visible from my front porch.
And now, with the idea that there could be a copycat, the chance of something going terribly wrong is higher. What if these start happening at the same time? 2 fires that don't get out of control, could probably be handled. 1 that gets out of control + 1 more, and we are starting to get pretty nervous. 2 that end up out of control, and it's a serious problem.
Another Conspiracy Theory (that Mansfield is doing it to clean up the abandoned properties), points at the "re-burns". #2 and #27 were at the same address. #27 rendered the structure ruined. #17 and #18 were the same.
#8, #24, and #27 were all on the same property, even though #8 wasn't the same "structure" as the other two.
I've sent messages, and left voicemails with larger TV stations. Our local station isn't viewed outside of the area, so I've been appealing to stations in Columbus and Cleveland (the ABC, NBC, and Foc Affiliates) to try and pick it up, and take the story. Our local SuperWoman Reporter has done a fantastic job covering it, and blasting it all over Social Media, but sometimes, I feel like she doesn't have the support of the city / paper behind her in it. She, and the few others who have covered the stories when she is busy are the only ones we hear about it from. Very few comments from the city, very little pressure put on the city to comment.
An Aside, you can skip this part
The reporter really is super woman. Reporter, Model, Cleveland Indians Hostess, Aspiring Actress, interviewer of Presidential Candidates (both Obama and Romney stopped here. She interviewed them both. She was the only local reporter with Obama from the time he landed until the time he took off), Radio Disney Personality. And she still busts her ass to be the best reporter she can be for the community.
Just wanted to give her props, even if she will never read this.
Yeah, I figured at 10 it would be noticed, 20, and someone might be saying "WTF is going on in Mansfield?!" 30, I would have guessed that it was "SRSBIZNESS", and now that we've hit 40.... It's crazy.
We have lost over half of our Fire Department's employees since 2008. To me, I'm stunned that none of these fires have spiraled out of control, and burnt a block down. A New Map with all the fires.
If you look at the map I linked, Zoom in, so that St Rt 13 and 430 (Park Ave W) are "Crosshairs" in the center of the map. Everything in the South East of that, is a Low Income neighborhood. The houses are Wood, and close together. There are plenty of old Garages, and buildings, and small businesses. It's a pretty standard 50's / 60's neighborhood that has fallen into disrepair. On the South West of the 13/430 intersection, this neighborhood tapers off. Sturges St is really the "end" of that neighborhood. It's weird. Sturges is at the top of a hill (But really Mansfield is full of hills....) and as you reach the top of this hill and head west, the neighborhoods start improving.
As some Lurkers who know me can verify, Arthur Ave is getting pretty close to where I live. (I live near the hospital). For some of those fires, the smoke was visible from my front porch.
And now, with the idea that there could be a copycat, the chance of something going terribly wrong is higher. What if these start happening at the same time? 2 fires that don't get out of control, could probably be handled. 1 that gets out of control + 1 more, and we are starting to get pretty nervous. 2 that end up out of control, and it's a serious problem.
Another Conspiracy Theory (that Mansfield is doing it to clean up the abandoned properties), points at the "re-burns". #2 and #27 were at the same address. #27 rendered the structure ruined. #17 and #18 were the same.
#8, #24, and #27 were all on the same property, even though #8 wasn't the same "structure" as the other two.
I've sent messages, and left voicemails with larger TV stations. Our local station isn't viewed outside of the area, so I've been appealing to stations in Columbus and Cleveland (the ABC, NBC, and Foc Affiliates) to try and pick it up, and take the story. Our local SuperWoman Reporter has done a fantastic job covering it, and blasting it all over Social Media, but sometimes, I feel like she doesn't have the support of the city / paper behind her in it. She, and the few others who have covered the stories when she is busy are the only ones we hear about it from. Very few comments from the city, very little pressure put on the city to comment.
An Aside, you can skip this part
The reporter really is super woman. Reporter, Model, Cleveland Indians Hostess, Aspiring Actress, interviewer of Presidential Candidates (both Obama and Romney stopped here. She interviewed them both. She was the only local reporter with Obama from the time he landed until the time he took off), Radio Disney Personality. And she still busts her ass to be the best reporter she can be for the community.
Just wanted to give her props, even if she will never read this.
nobody ever slaughtered an entire school with a smart phone and a twitter account – they have, however, toppled governments. - Jim Wright