A 54-year-old man is facing a slew of charges after a video showed him setting a three-story apartment building in New York City on fire with lighter fluid, the New York City Fire Department said.
Per the New York Post, the alleged arsonist, identified as Cassius Moss, is said to have gone to a bodega to purchase a bottle of lighter fluid before going to the nearby apartment building to set it on fire. The June 4 incident isn’t the first time Moss has been linked to an arson case.
“This reckless individual put the lives of residents and responding firefighters at risk when he set this fire,” FDNY Commissioner Robert Tucker said in a statement. “Thanks to the excellent work of the outstanding Bureau of Fire Investigation, this individual was arrested and will be held responsible for his dangerous act.”
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Tucker also said that a firefighter sustained an injury as they worked to put out the fire. Moss was ultimately linked to the arson through video evidence obtained by fire marshals. “He was caught on camera,” Tucker disclosed.
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In the video, Moss is seen purchasing a bottle of lighter fluid at a bodega not too far from the three-story apartment building. The 54-year-old subsequently made his way to the apartment before pouring the inflammable substance on the ground and then lighting it up with a cigarette lighter.
The fire caught the entire building, which was said to be a non-fireproof dwelling, despite the arrival of firefighters after three minutes, Tucker said, per the New York Post. Other nearby buildings also caught fire.
Tucker also said the apartment Moss set on fire ultimately collapsed while the nearby buildings sustained significant damages. The blaze was ultimately brought under control by 138 firefighters, and it took them four hours to do that.
Moss has since been charged with second-degree arson, first-degree reckless endangerment, and other offenses.
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