Angel's Night Victory For The City Of Detroit

DETROIT (WWJ) - Detroit's Angel Night effort to fight arson appears to have paid off. With the final tally in -- it looks like a huge victory for Angel's Night volunteers.

Tuesday, Mayor Dave Bing thanked the hundreds of volunteers who were responsible for record-breaking LOW numbers of arson fires during the Angel's Night weekend.

"We told the nay-sayers that our city is strong - our neighborhoods are united," said Bing.

The mayor says 94 fires were reported during the three-day period. That's the lowest number of fires since the program began in 1984.

"Detroit is starting to come back, and the worst thing that could have happened to us, on this particular weekend, was that we had a rash of fires that we could not control," said Mayor Bing.

Last year there were 169 fires Mayor Bing says the key was having better organized volunteers and ones who were more aggressive in their patrols.

"Those of you who are part of this community, if it were not for you ... regardless of the leadership we have ... this could not have happened," stressed Bing.