Officials investigating vandalism, garage fire

WAYNE TWP, Ind. (WISH) - A number of incidents in a southwest Indianapolis neighborhood has residents on edge and pointing fingers.

The Wayne Township Fire Department responded to a early morning garage fire. The heat from the blaze melted siding on a house several feet away. Firefighters say they had some issues putting out the fire because of downed power lines that were arching on the ground.

The garage is a total loss.

"When they arrived on scene they found a garage fully involved and extending into two neighbors residences." Mike Pruitt told 24-Hour-News 8 Sunday morning.

Neighbors who saw the blaze, raced over to make sure the homeowners got out of the house. Four people inside walked out on their own and are now OK.

The fire was discovered shortly after that a number of vehicles had slashed. Around a dozen tires on a number of cars are now deflated.

"Karma is a witch, and she'll come back and get ya," a very frustrated Ashley Lockhart said Sunday morning after having to get to safety after the fire and thinks the two are connected.

The Wayne Township Fire Department is looking into whether the garage fire was set intentionally and if the slashed tires are the work of vandals.

Investigators are looking into see if these incidents are tied in together.

"It's really coincidental that they both happened in the same time period overnight" Pruitt said

Anyone with information on these incidents is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 317-262-8477.