ERIE, Colo. (KDVR) — Police in Erie are asking for the public’s help identifying three people seen setting fire on a front porch.
Investigators say three fires have been set intentionally in the last two weeks and police fear someone could get hurt.
One of the fires was caught on home security video Sunday evening. Two people are seen carrying a bag of leaves to a front door. That bag is then set on fire.
A third person appears to be videotaping the whole thing.
Motion sensor alerts residents
Jill Goodwin-Helgerson and her husband were having dinner when a motion sensor alerted them to someone on the porch.
“(My husband) came running to the door and he looked out the peephole and he saw a flash, and he said, ‘Oh my God, I think they started a fire.’ So, he opened the door and they started running across the street,” Helgerson said.
A bag of leaves was beginning to burn next to the front door and a wall.
Investigators say the fires were set on Bain, Daily and Harris Streets. Two of them were on Sunday evening, and another was on Nov. 11.
Police trying to identify suspects
Erie Police sent out an alert asking people for help identifying the culprits. Each of them was wearing a hooded sweater. Police say they want to talk to them about what investigators call a case of arson.
News of the arsons has left some in Erie a little unsettled.
“Definitely it’s scary that they are going around. I don’t know if it’s for TikTok or views or social media or anything, but definitely, it’s really scary that they are acting that way,” neighbor Gohzazong Im said.
Goodwin-Helgerson said she’s hoping parents talk to their kids about how what may seem like a joke can turn deadly — “understanding there’s a line between something that could go wrong really quickly burn somebody’s house down.”
The people FOX31 talked to say they are hoping to see if there are any new clips that will help track down the three people seen starting this fire.
The Erie Police Department asked for anyone who might know anything to call them.