Chicago firefighters responded to a string of 12 dumpster fires overnight in Chicago's North Center and Lakeview neighborhoods.
The fires started at 11:00 p.m. Tuesday night and continued: one after another, after another.
"My husband and I jumped out of bed," said Laura Durudogan, who lives in the North Center neighborhood and was woken up by a phone call from a neighbor. "It was just pandemonium back there and I couldn't figure out what happened."
The fires were set between 11 p.m. and about 3 a.m. Wednesday from Damen to Halsted and Hermitage to Cornelia, according to the Chicago Fire Department.
Police said the fires were the work of an arsonist, perhaps someone getting around on a bicycle.
"It's a little scary because you think of any of the other places that have theirs next to the garage? If that goes up, the house goes up," said Matt Zwiesler, who lives on the property of a burned trash bin and burned fence. "I couldn't imagine if this would've been a garage, it would have been a car on fire, blows up, anything."
Arson detectives are investigating, but there were no arrests by Wednesday evening.
