A serial arsonist who is torching cars in an Allston neighborhood has residents on edge about their vehicles and potentially their safety.
“It’s concerning. What else is this guy capable of? It’s crazy,” said Julia Hershonik, 21, a resident of Pratt Street.
Firefighters rushed to Pratt Street just before 8 a.m. Saturday for a report of cars on fire behind a home. As they were fighting that fire, another car fire was reported a few houses away. Moments later, a fourth car was seen on fire on Ashford Street, which runs parallel to Pratt Street.
The four cars torched Saturday increased the total to eight cars that have been set ablaze in the neighborhood in the past six weeks, fire officials said.
One of the cars set on fire Saturday belonged to 21-year-old Jeff Intinarelli.
He was sleeping Saturday morning when a neighbor alerted him that his Chevrolet Malibu was on fire. He ran outside and saw flames coming from his car.
“The guy’s just sick,” said Intinarelli, who plans to get a new car. “We just have to keep our eyes peeled. He’s taking pleasure [in it].”
Fire officials and police are investigating, but residents and visitors to the neighborhood aren’t taking chances.
“I visit here every week,” said Jesse Humphrey, 24, of Brighton, while sitting on a porch with some friends on Pratt Street yesterday. “This makes me not want to drive here.”
