COLUMBUS, Ohio — Around 2 p.m. Monday, Aaron Wheeler smelled smoke from inside his apartment at Saw Mill Village in northwest Columbus.
Wheeler said when he couldn’t find anything on fire inside his apartment. When he walked outside, he saw three pieces of boxed mail on fire outside his neighbor's front door.
“When I ran out and saw the smoke I was like, 'Oh my God, what is happening?'“ he said.
Wheeler said he's not sure how the three boxes caught on fire.
“There were three packages like clothing items, nothing that would burst into flames,” he said.
Twenty-four hours later, the apartment a few feet away from where he lives went up in flames.
At least three people, two dogs and a cat were rescued from the fire. About 30 people were displaced because of the water and fire, according to the Columbus Division of Fire. No injuries were reported.
The apartment's management company is working with the Red Cross to find alternative living spaces for those who were displaced.
Residents are not sure whether the two fires were connected or just a coincidence.
“I’m pretty shaken up from yesterday. It's weird and it's concerning if someone really did light the packages on fire that's that, but with what happened yesterday I'm pretty concerned myself,” Wheeler said.
“It's quite concerning especially with it being gas and gas lines is it a gas issue or someone being irresponsible,” says Megan Harris, who is another tenant in the complex.
As of Wednesday, the fire department has not ruled on a cause for Tuesday's fire. Until the investigation is complete, residents hope it was just an awful coincidence.
10TV requested fire runs for the past two years at Saw Mill Village Apartments and only found one other fire that involved rubbish in a garage back in 2020.