3 Fires at One Sunnyvale Home: Coincidence or Arson?

Three fires at one South Bay home. Coincidence? Bad Luck? Or arson?

Investigators in Sunnyvale are going with a targeted torching as neighbors worry that the arson assault might continue putting them in danger. Neighbors who live on Duncardine Way just south of El Camino Real in Sunnyvale are scratching their heads because the home at 777 Duncardine has been burned down three times.

"The thing that's really just jawdropping about is the statistical possibility of the same house catching on fire three times," Neighbor Gary Pagac said as he looked at the charred house. "If you can put that in the proper equation, you can see that there's a real problem here."
 
Sunnyvale Department of Public Safety says when the first fire happened in February 2012, the family who lives at this home was out of the country on vacation. They decided to rebuild a new home from the ruins, but in July 2013, it caught fire again. Investigators have called the first two fires...suspicious. The family decided to rebuild again for a second time and last Sunday, the home was burned down to the ground a third time and this time it was ruled an arson.

"Very scary especially because our two neighbors were affected," Neighbor Michelle Burke said.

Two other homes next door have been damaged as well during these three fires to the point the families who live in those homes are living somewhere else as well.

Neighbors and investigators want to know who is doing this and why this family is being targeted.

"We don't believe that this somebody that's running around setting homes on fire throughout the neighborhood," Capt. Jeff Hunter said.  "We believe that this is location specific and that this specific location was targeted.
 
Neighbors have set up surveillance and motion detectors to either scare the arsonist away or catch him. But they're hearing the family who owns the burned out property may be selling it instead of trying to rebuild another home for a fourth time.  

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