Suspicious fire destroys two homes in Cahokia

Investigators say an early morning fire that started in one home and spread to another is suspicious.

The blaze started at about 3 a.m. Monday in one vacant home on East Adams Street in Cahokia. Before firefighters could get it put out, the fire spread to another vacant home next door.

Assistant Chief Sharon Davis of the Camp Jackson Fire Department said both houses were completely destroyed.

The suspected arson is the latest in a string of vacant house fires in the Cahokia and East St. Louis area.

“There have been so many of them that I couldn’t even begin to count them,” Davis said.

She said firefighters suspect foul play because the homes were unoccupied and it’s extremely unusual for a home where no one is living to go up in flames without help.

It has not yet been determined how the initial fire started, Davis said. The case is still under investigation.

She asked anyone with information about the fire to contact the Camp Jackson Fire Department firehouse at 618-332-2196.

This story was originally published August 3, 2015 at 6:55 AM with the headline "Suspicious fire destroys two homes in Cahokia."