Rochester Police say the fire at 30 Hertel Street that killed a young Rochester mother and injured six other people Monday night was no accident.
Police Chief Michael Ciminelli said at a news conference that evidence shows the fire, which quickly spread across the porch and side of the house, was deliberately set.
The fire took the life of 34-year-old Champagne Singleton, a mother of two. Family members who escaped said she was first to spot the fire while cooking dinner…and yelled a warning before running upstairs where her children were in a back room. They jumped out a window, but she apparently became disoriented and lost her life.
Lt. Frank Umbrino says they’re also looking for a person of interest named Lawrence Emory Dash for questioning. They’re asking anyone who knows of his whereabouts to call 911. Umbrino says Dash had a relationship with someone in the house, but they aren’t ready to call him a suspect at this time.
Police say the house on Hertel Street Street was targeted, although they’re not prepared at this time to say why.