A Prince George’s County, Maryland, man has been charged with arson after a two-alarm fire late Thursday night at a Temple Hills apartment building displaced 10 people and left two firefighters hurt.
Anthony Cooper, 50, of Temple Hills, was detained at the scene of the fire and, during an interview with investigators, admitted intentionally starting the fire in an apartment, authorities said in a news release Friday afternoon.
In addition to first- and second-degree arson, which are felonies, Cooper is charged with misdemeanor reckless endangerment.
Firefighters were called to the three-story apartment complex on Huntley Square Drive shortly before 11:15 p.m. Thursday, according to the fire department.
Two firefighters who responded to the fire were taken to a hospital to be treated for minor burns and were later released, according to a spokesperson with the Prince George’s County fire department.
“I’m shocked it’s arson because I’ve been around here for going on 26 years and I’ve never seen anything like,” one woman who lives in the neighborhood told WTOP. “Especially not someone setting a fire, so it’s not good.”
Eight adults and two children were displaced in the two-alarm fire.
“I’m just a little disturbed … because so many people have been affected,” the neighbor said. “To find out that it’s arson, that makes it even worse. So, I’m just saddened by it.”
The Office of the Fire Marshal examined the scene and estimated the damage at $1 million.
“I feel lost because I don’t have anywhere to go,” one woman who lives in the building told WTOP. “I don’t know what to do.”