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Sunday, May 19, 2013 | 2:27 a.m.

Posted: 10:55 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 13, 2012

Woman caught starting fire in San Jose being investigated as serial arsonist

Remains of San Jose dumpster arson on Oct.
Remains of San Jose dumpster arson on Oct.

SAN JOSE, Calif. —

San Jose firefighters arrested a woman Saturday night who was caught setting a fire in the same area where more than 10 fires have been deliberately set over the last three weeks.

The fires were all set on Delna Manor Lane and most occurred in dumpsters, or to shrubs and trees.

Firefighters were very concerned they could catch a home on fire because the fires were within feet of houses.

Fire investigators said they spotted a 56-year-old woman lighting a fire in a garbage can while they were staking out the area,

The woman was arrested.

Investigators were looking into whether she was responsible for all the fires in the Delna Manor area that have been reported since Sept. 26.

One of the most recent fires was a one-alarm that burned outside 834 Delna Manor Lane, a residential street near South Bascom Avenue and Downing Avenue, on Oct. 8, San Jose Fire Capt. Mary Gutierrez said.

"The majority seem to be happening after dark," Gutierrez said.

She said the fires have burned in back or side alleys of large, multi-tenant residential buildings, some near Dumpsters, brush or trees.

So far, Gutierrez said, none of the fires have spread to the buildings, but fire investigators were still concerned.

"We are taking this seriously because there is a high potential for property loss and loss of life," Gutierrez said.

Anyone with information about the fires was asked to call the San Jose Fire Department's arson tip hotline at (408) 272-7766.

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