Citrus Heights police confirmed that a man was arrested after a major fire caused extensive damage to a home on Glen Echo Street Monday afternoon. He is believed to be the home’s primary resident, according to neighbors.
Fire Captain Chris Vestal said Metro Fire crews responded to the 7800 block of Glen Echo Street, near Old Auburn Road, just after 4:30 p.m. on March 27. He said extra units were deployed to the scene due to a report that a man had been seen running inside the home and not coming back out.
Vestal said several searches were made and described the scene as “really heavy fire throughout the structure,” requiring three interior attack lines. He confirmed the man being sought was later found in a RV parked outside the home, with two dogs.
The man, who was initially unidentified by officials, was observed speaking with police officers from inside the RV after the fire had been put out. Sgt. Jason Baldwin confirmed the man was later arrested “for delaying and interfering with the investigation.”
Asked about the arrest, Capt. Vestal confirmed the man in the RV “was detained for the issues surrounding the property,” but did not provide further comment Monday evening. He said an arson investigator was on scene, but said the cause of the fire had not been determined.
Several neighbors told The Sentinel the home was occupied by a sole resident who had become mentally unstable after his 9-year-old nephew was reportedly mauled to death by pit bulls last year. They said he could be heard at night “banging loudly,” and had told them he was “seeing demons.”
No one was injured in the fire, but Vestal called damage to the structure “extensive.”
Updated April 1, 10:54 p.m.– The man was later identified by officials as 56-year-old Charles Williams Fuhrman. According to online inmate records, he has been charged with arson of property and “recklessly causing fire to property or forestland.” He is ineligible for bail.