EAST HAVEN – On January 3rd, the East Haven Safety Dispatch Center received a 911 call from someone stating that she had just returned her foreclosed property at 85 Henry Street and could smell smoke and hear smoke detectors going off.
Upon East Haven Fire Department’s arrival, they located a fire contained to a small pile of combustible materials in a bedroom in the back of the house that contained no furniture, preventing the fire from becoming stronger.
The fire was contained within minutes of the crews’ arrival, allowing the inhabitants to be injury free.
Through a collaborative investigation between the East Haven Police Department Detectives Division, the East Haven Fire Department Fire Marhsal’s Office, and the Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosives Unit, it was determined that a former resident of the house, Joshua Miller, 26, intentionally set the fire after retrieving personal belongings from the property.
Miller told investigators that he became emotional about losing the house to the bank and threw a lit cigarette near a towel, initiating the embers.
Miller then stated he left the house and locked the front door.
He then went to go pick up his mother in the center of East Haven and alerted her of the fire, prompting her to return to the residence where she called 911.
Miller was placed under arrest and charged with: Arson in the Third Degree, Criminal Mischief in the First Degree, and Falsely Reporting in the Second Degree.
He was transported to the East Haven Police Department and was processed. Miller is currently being held on $100,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on January 15th at G.A. 23 in new Haven.