Brookfield police are still investigating the origin of a fire that heavily damaged a garage in the 4400 block of Prairie Avenue last week. According to police, the department is looking at suspects in the case and that arson may have been the cause of the May 16 blaze.
Police responded to emergency calls of a fire at 10:56 p.m., and arrived to find a man, later identified as a neighbor, using a garden hose to extinguish the fire, which had engulfed the west wall of the structure. Fire department personnel arrived on the scene shortly thereafter and put out the blaze.
One witness said that he was visiting a friend’s house and walking to his car, when he heard suspicious noises coming from the rear of the garage. When he looked in the alley, the witness said he observed the wall of the garage on fire and saw two men, both described as Hispanic with shaved heads, standing near the blaze. The two men then fled and were last seen running westbound on Gerritsen Avenue.
Fire Department Capt. Edward Bermann told police that he smelled gasoline coming from the area of the fire, and that fire department personnel had recovered a 1.5-gallon gasoline container about 20 feet south of the garage. He also said that the fire appeared to have started on the exterior of the west wall.
The owner of the property told police he had not been having trouble with anyone, and had no idea why someone would want to set his garage on fire. He did express concern, however, about numerous youths congregating at a nearby building.
