Man starts fire in home

January 7, 2011

920 Roscoe Street in Sweetwater

Sweetwater firefighters extinguished a blaze at 920 Roscoe Street in Sweetwater on Thursday afternoon around lunch. According to authorities and family members, a woman and her boyfriend were in an argument in the mobile home when the boyfriend told her to get out of the house and set it on fire. "He wanted to die," said the woman's sister. The man later exited the home before firefighters put out the fire. He was later picked up by the Sweetwater Police Department and has been taken to a mental health facility for evaluation. There were no injuries caused by the blaze. He will not face criminal charges, as the home he set on fire was his own. According to arson laws, a person cannot commit "arson" against his own property, unless there is intent to defraud or injure someone else's body or property.
(Photo by Jim Kelley)