Volunteer patrols help keep Angels' Night fires low
DETROIT (WJBK) - Volunteers and city workers continue to keep the number of arsons down in Detroit over the Halloween period.
The city reports Tuesday that of the 59 fires during the annual Angels' Night campaign, 22 are considered suspicious.
One blaze was in an occupied structure. Another 19 were in vacant houses or buildings. There were 52 fires last year. The city says that a few years ago the average was close to 100 fires.
More than 6,000 volunteers helped patrol streets and neighborhoods from Saturday night through Monday night.
The day before Halloween had historically been a time of mischief and called Devil's Night in Detroit. Vacant houses began to be torched in the 1980s. The city had more than 800 fires during the Halloween period in 1984.