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Family on Edge After Fires, Suspicious Activity

SCOTT TOWNSHIP — Suspicious activity in one neighborhood this week has authorities in Lackawanna County wondering if an arsonist is on the loose, and it h...
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SCOTT TOWNSHIP -- Suspicious activity in one neighborhood this week has authorities in Lackawanna County wondering if an arsonist is on the loose, and it has folks in the Justus area on edge.

Two cases from this week are cause enough for concern, but other events this week have family concerned.

A 17-year-old boy was sleeping Wednesday afternoon when, as troopers believe, someone set fire to the front of the garage.

The family fears the fire may be retaliation for a bizarre string of events that happened earlier this week.

It is a setback for the Makala family from the Justus area of Scott Township, but one they will overcome. They can't stay in their house on Justus Boulevard after fire filled their garage Wednesday afternoon. Brandon Makala, 17, was at home sleeping soundly on the couch when a stranger burst through the door and got him out. The house was already filled with smoke.

"I'm just lucky to be alive at this point," he said. "If nobody woke me up, who knows what could have happened?"

A state police fire marshal calls this a case of arson.  Troopers say someone used wood scraps around the garage to set the fire.

But even before this happened, the Makalas have had a scary week.

Sunday night, Brandon and his dad saw two men on their property, later finding dents and scratches on their pickup truck.

Then Monday night, Brandon caught a man trying to break into a neighbor's house.

"I didn't get to see what he looked like. I was just following him up into the woods, and then I turned back, then the cops and everyone came and we went looking for him but we couldn't find him anywhere."

So the Makalas fear the fire could be related to those two other incidents. Police are investigating possible connections.

Police also aren't saying if the Makala's fire is related to a case in another part of Scott Township.

On Monday, something on fire was shot at a home. No one was hurt.

All of it is enough to make the Makalas fear for their safety.

"Scary," said Brandon. "I'm scared, real scared, you don't know what to think at this point."

Police are not saying whether they believe the other incidents on Justus Boulevard or the other fire are connected.

Anyone with information is asked to call state police or Scott Township police.

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