Fire officials in Norton, Massachusetts, are investigating a pair of fires that they say were intentionally set around the same time.
Authorities say the fires were set across the street from one another early Sunday morning. One fire was started in a recycling bin outside a Mansfield Avenue home around midnight.
"I was just downstairs with my roommate Hailey and we were cleaning up," recalled Lauren White. "She looks closer and our recycling bin is just up in flames."
An hour and a half later, investigators say the home across the street caught fire.
Firefighters rescued a woman in her 80s who was sleeping on the second floor.
Residents say they are in shock that something like this could happen in their neighborhood.
"That's not something you should mess around with nowadays because somebody almost got really injured," said resident Brandon Warren.
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"It's sad, you know what I mean, that they would do that," said White. I mean that's an elderly woman, what did she ever do to them?"
Both fires remain under investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to call the arson hotline at 1-800-682-9229. Fire officials are offering up to $5,000 to anyone who can help them.
"I'm shocked that someone would go around lighting things on fire," said White.
