The fire department was dispatched at about 4:47 p.m. to a report of light smoke showing from the building near the corner of Ohio Avenue.
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“There was a small fire. A pile of stuff on fire inside,” said Middletown Fire Chief Paul Lolli.
In the past few months there have been fires set inside and outside the building, he said.
“It is fair to say the fire was suspicious,” Lolli said.
The former commercial building was designated a dangerous building and there are orders for the structure to be boarded up, according to the city building department.
However, Lolli said the “eye sore” is still accessible to people.
When crews arrived at the building Tuesday, four doors in the front were boarded up but the back door was open, according to the fire report. It appeared someone could have entered the building, according to firefighters.
Building owner Nick Kidd arrived at the fire scene and said he had mowed the grass that afternoon and did not notice anything unusual, according to the report.
Kidd said the electricity to the building has been turned off for at least four years and he did not have insurance on the building.
Kidd indicated he had many issues over the years with people and stealing items and vandalizing the property, according to the report.
Firefighters were called on June 20 to the back of the property where fires were found burning in debris in the garage. A neighbor reported hearing a “pop” then went outside and saw smoke.
Middletown city officials did not respond to this newspaper’s requests about the status of the building.
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