Times staff
Friday, September 10, 2010
TAMPA — A man arrived home Friday to find the house on fire and a young man running away, according to Tampa Fire Rescue.
Kingsley Peart, 57, saw the man on the porch as he drove up to 1514 E 15th Ave., the agency said.
When he pulled up next to the house, the young man took off running and Peart saw smoke coming from a front window.
Firefighters responded quickly and extinguished the flames in five minutes. The damage is estimated at $1,000.
Fire marshals said whoever started the fire broke in through the front window and set some things on fire in a bedroom.
Tampa police searched for the young man but did not find him.
Peart lives in the rooming house with two other men; the room that burned was not his.
Anyone with information about the fire can call the Tampa Fire Marshals Office at (813) 274-7133.