A Millheim man was arrested early Tuesday morning after he allegedly set a fire inside his apartment and fled the scene.
Paul C. Eby, 26, is facing a felony charge of arson along with three misdemeanor counts of recklessly endangering another person and one misdemeanor count of criminal mischiefl
State police and fire crews were dispatched at about 1:30 a.m. to an apartment house on the 100 block of East Main Street after the building’s fire alarm went off and a resident called 911. All residents evacuated the building and no injuries or significant damage were reported.
The resident told a state trooper that before the alarm she heard “a lot of banging and commotion” coming from Eby’s upstairs apartment. She then heard footsteps on the outer rear stairs of the building and looked outside to see Eby’s vehicle was gone, state police at Rockview wrote in an affidavit of probable cause.
Eby separately called Centre County 911 and said someone had set his apartment on fire, according to the affidavit. He was subsequently detained by state police at Selinsgrove and taken to the Rockview barracks.
Firefighters had to force the door to Eby’s apartment open because the deadbolt, police wrote. A state police fire marshal observed that the apartment was in disarray, with the contents of the refrigerator dumped on the floor, a hole in the drywall and burners removed from the stovetop.
The only sign of fire damage was to a window seal in the dining area, and after further investigation the fire marshal determined the curtains for the window were ignited using a butane torch that was on a nearby table, according to the affidavit
During an interview, a state trooper asked Eby about the refrigerator and stove, and Eby replied that he was frustrated that he “wasn’t getting help with his physical and mental pain,” according to the affidavit.
Eby allegedly said he saw the fire “spark,” in a different location than troopers observed. He also said he could not remember why he locked the deadbolt and left or why he didn’t call 911 immediately, police wrote
He then told police he believed the butane lighter started the fire, but when asked if he was the person who started the fire he refused to answer any more questions.
Eby was arraigned on Tuesday morning by District Judge Casey McClain, who denied bail.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 16.
Millheim and Miles Township fire companies responded to the fire call.
