Officials release updates on recent fires, including suspicious blazes on N. Foster Ave.

LANSING — Fires that damaged four homes in north Lansing and sent two people to the hospital Friday afternoon were caused by an open outdoor fire, city fire officials said.

Two houses in the 1300 block of Theodore Street and two others in the 1300 block of West Willow Street were damaged in the blaze.

A resident of one of the homes was taken to a hospital for smoke inhalation and a firefighter was treated at a hospital for heat exhaustion, fire officials said.

Assistant Lansing Fire Chief Mike Tobin said Tuesday the fire was caused by illegal open burning. The investigation is ongoing, he said.

Meanwhile, officials are asking for the public's help in the investigation involving suspicious fires that happened about the same time in two different blocks of North Foster Avenue on May 16.

Firefighters responded to separate fires at 336 and 600 North Foster Ave. within minutes of each other, a scenario that Tobin described as very unusual. Both blazes began outside and burned into the front porch area of the houses. One of the fires burned into a natural gas line. No injuries were reported.

The fires remain under investigation, although Tobin on Tuesday confirmed they are "suspicious" and "tied together." That means investigators have ruled out accidental causes, he said.

Anyone with information is asked to call CrimeStoppers at (517) 483-STOP (7867).

Contact Ken Palmer atkpalmer@lsj.com. Follow him on Twitter @KBPalm_lsj.

This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: Officials release updates on recent fires, including suspicious blazes on N. Foster Ave.