Fire investigators haven’t ruled it arson, but if you ask the Serna family, there is no doubt someone targeted their Brownsville home.
They said someone went through the backyard, pushed an air conditioner out of the window and set a molotov cocktail on the window sill, hoping the house would go up in flames - and it did.
Amanda Serna lives at the home and said after fire crews put out the blaze she waited for an investigator that never came.
"I thought they were going to send one right away and we were here waiting and well no one showed up,” Serna said. “Of course I was not going to stay here and sleep, so I went to a friend's house."
According to the incident report,” the fire was suspect, possibly arson.” The report also states that Brownsville Fire Chief Leonardo Perez “declined” to send an investigator a the time of the incident.
Action 4 spoke with Chief Perez and he stands by his decision to wait until morning to send an investigator to the scene.
Perez doesn’t believe the investigation was jeopardized.
"When the call came in it was about three of four in the morning and it was a weekend and we were a little bit busy with other stuff, so we left it till this morning,” Perez said. “Our firefighter are trained to uncover those things. I felt that it was adequate with the officers on duty to get the information that they got."
The Serna family said they are not upset, but having a quicker response into the investigation would've helped calm their fears. They are thankful the fire did not get out of control because the home is currently uninsured.
The Serna family said they are also thankful no one was home at the time of the incident, however now they are faced with finding a way to repair the damage left behind by the possible arsonist.
They hope if someone is to blame for the fire, investigators didn’t let too much time pass to lead to an arrest.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKGBT