'We could see the flames in our living room'

By Molly Blancett KVAL News Published: Dec 6, 2010 at 6:50 PM PDT
'We could see the flames in our living room' »Play Video
The Autry family can't live in their home anymore. "We could see the flames in our living room," Brenda Autry said. Someone lit their neighbor's vacant home on fire on Nov. 15. The flames spread to the Autry home, destroying years of family memories.

ALBANY, Ore. -- The Autry family can't live in their home anymore.

"We could see the flames in our living room," Brenda Autry said.

Someone lit their neighbor's vacant home on fire on Nov. 15. The flames spread to the Autry home, destroying years of family memories.

"I actually bought it from relatives, so we had a lot of family heirlooms in here," said Less Autry. "We lost all the family heirlooms and everything we had. You can't replace things like that."

There have been more arson fires since the one on Walnut - and the Albany Fire Department is preparing for even more. On Monday, the fire department and city officials visited vacant homes to board them up - and police said they have a serial arsonist, or arsonists, on their hands.

"We understand that by doing this we are not taking care of the problem completely, but what we are trying to do is put enough hurdles in the way that we can reduce the risk," said City of Albany Building Official Melanie Adams.

The city made a list of 90 vacant homes they see as likely targets. Adams said with foreclosures rampant in the community, that's just a fraction of the total number of vacant buildings in the city.

The fire department said there are things you can do to protect your home, neighborhood and business.

  • Be on the lookout.
  • If you see anything that looks suspicious, call 911.
  • Make your house visible and make it look like someone lives there.
  • Leave lights on.
  • If the house next to you is empty, park one of your cars there.

It's little relief for the Autry family, as they start their life again somewhere else.    

"It's just kind of heartbreaking," said Brenda Autry.

Albany police arrested one man in connection with three fires. That suspect, Daniel Quast, has been behind bars since early November, but there have been more arsons since he's been behind bars. Police said it is possible he is not working alone.

The Albany Fire Department has created a website with more steps you can take to help them find the arsonist.