SOUTH BEND — South Bend firefighters do not see a connection between numerous fires during the past week.

At least seven fires occurred from Thursday through Sunday in the city, one of which claimed the life of a 52-year-old man.

Although arson has been labeled as the cause of one of the blazes, most of them remain under investigation.

“Why have we had so many in a row?” Fire Chief Howard Buchanon said. “It just happens sometimes, and I can’t say why. It usually averages out. But at this time, I can’t foresee a connection, although we’ll have to wait and see what the investigations find.”

String of fires
The fire Saturday night that claimed the life of Christopher Fabyan in the 1700 block of West Prairie Avenue is still under investigation, Assistant Chief Federico Rodriguez said.

“We’re still investigating,” he said. “It’s a slow process because of the stuff inside. Right now, we’re sifting through everything.”

When firefighters arrived at the home, fireworks were going off inside, but that has not been determined to be the cause yet. Fabyan was known for his love of fireworks, and neighbors said they could hear them going off the night of the fire.

Here is a list of other recent fires:

— Thursday at homes in the 500 block of South Illinois Street and the 600 block of North Brookfield.

— Friday at a home in the 1300 block of West Poland Street and a vacant business at the corner of Western Avenue and Walnut Street.

— Saturday at an apartment building in the 500 block of West Monroe Street.

The blaze on Monroe Street likely started in the kitchen, Buchanon said, but an exact cause has yet to be pin-pointed. All of the tenants escaped safely.

— And Sunday, a small fire in the 400 block of South Sheridan, which was determined to be an arson.

“We’re a little behind on our paperwork because too many fires have happened at the same time,” Rodriguez said.

Busy corner
There have been a number of fires near the intersection of Walnut and Western in the past year.

A vacant building at 331 S. Walnut St. burned to the ground in March 2007. A homeless man, 50-year-old Richard Eakins, died in that blaze.

And in June, an old fire station at 1240 W. Thomas St., about a block away, also was gutted by a fire.

There has not been a cause determined for any of the fires, and Buchanon said he is not sure whether they could be connected.

Buchanon said it’s often difficult to determine a cause.

“We’re just not sure at this time,” he said. “In the most recent fire there, there were no utilities, so we’re looking into whether a vagrant may have been inside and set it on purpose.”