ATLANTA — An Atlanta community is sounding the alarm about recent fires at a nearby auto repair shop. This week, the fire department is investigating at least one of those fires as a possible case of arson.
Police have reportedly been out to the area seven times, but mainly for traffic calls. Now the recent fires have neighbors worried.
One of those neighbors is Jazz Jordan, who moved into the Lakewood Heights neighborhood 12 years ago. It's a community in transition, with the lot across the street from Jordan's home being abandoned until about a year ago, according to him.
Over the last year, however, Jordan said he noticed questionable activity. Televisions moving in and out, trash dumping, laying drag, and most recently, someone set fire to the property. Jordan said three fires had been set at the Lakewood Avenue lot in the last year. The latest was caught on his home surveillance system.
"It’s all done under the cover of darkness, so there’s a silhouette," Jordan said. "You can’t tell whether they’re male or female.”
Atlanta Fire and Rescue confirmed it is investigating a case of arson at the Lakewood Avenue property after it was reported Monday.
“If the right number of cars catch on fire within a certain amount of time – if the fire department is out on a different gig – the whole block could go up in flames," Jordan said.
The owner of the property, Mahamud Rahman, said he did not know the circumstances surrounding the case. According to the Secretary of State's Office, Slang Lifeee Whipz LLC has operated as an auto repair shop and used car seller on the lot since May.
No one from the business wanted to talk to 11Alive. However, Rahman said the business is moving on after a few months.
"This area is a very challenged area," Rahman said. "There’s a lot of blight, the homeless over there."
The lot is surrounded by renovated homes, a food mart, a post office, and a fire station. Rahman said with Slang Lifeee Whipz moving out, he has fielded three or four calls for other businesses to move in, including a tow truck company and another used car seller.
Jordan said he wants the next replacement to add value to a community searching for answers and an end to crime.
"Anything as simple as a community garden, it could become affordable housing for people in the neighborhood. There are tons of people looking for apartments and homes they could have their own equity in. Anything that could actually build up the neighborhood,” Jordan said.