Two fires broke out inside vacant homes in the same City of Erie neighborhood overnight.
This comes after homeless people were seen using abandoned homes for shelter from the cold.
While the causes of the fires have not been confirmed, the blazes are raising concerns about squatters setting fires in vacant homes to keep warm.
Flames engulfed a house on the 1300 block of Wayne Street in the City of Erie Friday morning.
City of Erie residents asked to contact code enforcement on abandoned houses
Just hours earlier, firefighters were two blocks away battling a blaze in the 400 block of East 14th Street.
Both were abandoned houses but neighbors have seen homeless people going in and out of each. No one was inside when firefighters arrived but City of Erie Fire Marshal Donald Sauer suspected the fires may been set by squatters.
“It’s not like they’re going into the house to set the house on fire and burn it to the ground. They’re just starting fires to stay warm,” Fire Marshal Sauer said.