Darren Arnold sought for allegedly setting fire to West Philly home where 150 jugs of gasoline were found
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A West Philadelphia community is on edge as police look for an arson suspect. Authorities need your help to find 37-year-old Darren Arnold.
Residents worry Arnold might return to the badly damaged home that has now become a neighborhood nuisance.
If you see something, say something. It's almost become a motto of sorts in post-9/11 America, a call to citizens to be vigilant. For a group of residents in West Philly, they're screaming at the top of their lungs and they hope someone listens and does something before it's too late.
"This is the third or fourth incident since the house caught on fire back in March. We're gonna deal with this again. This is gonna be on the news again," block captain Casey Adams said.
Here we are six days later back on the 100 block of North 59th Street in West Philly.
The person Adams is talking about is 37-year-old Darren Arnold. Police say they have issued a warrant for his arrest for his role in multiple incidents, including arson, on this street.
"Puts us in fear because we don't know when it's gonna happen again. We have our children, our families, the elderly around here. So we're all walking on pins and needles right now," Twana Tolliver said.
A week ago, authorities removed 154 milk jugs filled with gasoline from the residence. Last Tuesday morning, a fire damaged the home and several others.
And late Saturday night, residents again saw smoke coming from this building.
"We are actually scared on this block for our lives," Michael Nichols said.
"We can't sleep, we can't live our life. We're afraid to leave our homes," Tolliver said.
The front of the residence is closed off, but the rear of the building is obscured by out-of-control vegetation, greenery someone could conceivably and easily sneak in through.
However the latest fire was set, and the residents here just want help.
"We're looking for our city councilman who hasn't showed up. When other fires have happened in the city, their city councilman showed up but our city councilman has not showed up here to see what our needs are," Nichols said.
"To catch this guy so we can go back to normal living our lives," Tolliver said.
CBS3 reached out to District 4 City Councilman Curtis Jones Jr.'s office but we have not heard back.
If you see Arnold, you're asked to call police.
