Sebec resident charged with setting home on fire

SEBEC – A local man was arrested and charged with arson Wednesday in connection with a fire at his home on New Year’s Day.

Christopher Shawn Curtis, 40, was arrested at a relative’s house in Sebec by Investigator Scott Richardson and Sgt. Stewart Jacobs, fire investigations supervisor, both of the State Fire Marshal’s Office.

Curtis made bail of $500 and was released later Wednesday from the Piscataquis County Jail. He is expected to make his first court appearance today in 13th District Court in Dover-Foxcroft.

Jacobs said Wednesday that the fire that damaged Curtis’ two-story home was caused by intentional human element with use of ignitable liquids. He declined to be more specific on the type of liquid used to start the fire.

The fire official praised the rapid response by Sebec, Dover-Foxcroft and Milo firefighters, who quickly extinguished the blaze. A local firefighter received minor injuries during the suppression efforts, he said.

Also credited with saving the home from further damage was Walt Emmons, who spotted the smoke coming from the residence and who went to investigate.

Emmons, a local electrician, found the home locked, pulled the meter box to cut off power to the residence, then reported the fire from the nearby home of Curtis’ relatives.

Jacobs said that quick response and thinking allowed the preservation of evidence that determined the origin of the fire.

“It representatives a cooperative effort between firefighters and the Fire Marshal’s Office,” he noted.

The arrest of Curtis came after Richardson filed an investigative report to Piscataquis County District Attorney R. Christopher Almy. Almy, in turn, approved an affidavit for an arrest warrant. Curtis did not resist arrest, according to Jacobs.