An arsonist is believed responsible for two fires set this week in unoccupied buildings feet from each other in Wayne County, state police at Dunmore said.
Investigators released a photo Friday of a “person of interest” captured by a home video surveillance system at one of the fire scenes, state police said. The photo depicts a thin, bearded man in a hooded sweatshirt. He appears to have something hidden underneath his sweatshirt.
State police believe someone set fire early Friday to the former Gouldsboro Inn, 572 Main St., Lehigh Twp., and to an unoccupied home under renovation roughly 300 feet away early Wednesday.
Anyone with information that could help should contact the fire marshal unit at 570-963-4323 or 570-963-4293.
Gouldsboro Volunteer Fire Company responded at 4:41 a.m. to the former Gouldsboro Inn as flames ripped through the interior of the unoccupied building.
On Wednesday, a blaze destroyed a home undergoing renovation approximately 300 feet away. That fire, reported shortly after 3 a.m., reduced the unoccupied structure to tumbled down cinders.
No injuries were reported at either fire.
Jim Martin, a 78-year-old retired cop from New York City who moved to the area two years ago, expressed concerns about a potential firebug but said he is confident state police will catch the suspect.
“You have to put arsonists in prison,” Martin said. “That’s where they belong.”