Salina Police are investigating two residential arson fires that were ignited in the Sunset Park area early Saturday.

Police Captain Paul Forrester tells KSAL News that investigators have interviewed a person of interest in the case and believe the fires are connected.

On Saturday around 2:30am, someone used an accelerant to spark a fire on the back of an unoccupied rental home at 848 Sheridan causing about $5,000 in damages to the exterior.

Officers found a 35-foot burn path in the yard that then led up to the house.

Police say later that morning in the same neighborhood at 864 Sherman, someone used an accelerant to ignite the front of a rental house that was unoccupied.

A passerby who was driving to work around 4:30am stopped to alert the neighbor and used a garden hose to put out the flames. Authorities say damage to the residence on Sherman could exceed $5,000.

No one was injured in either fire. No arrests have been made.