Shelton police have arrested a man accused of setting a house on fire while people were inside.
Michael Karolkowski, 51, of Shelton, faces charges of first-degree arson, first-degree reckless endangerment, second-degree breach of peace, and interfering with an officer.
The charges stem from an investigation into a basement fire at a downtown home Sunday afternoon. The occupants of the home all escaped without injury, police said.
According to police, while crews were responding to the fire scene, they were informed by a resident that there was a man in the area who claimed to have lit the house on fire.
That man, identified as Karolkowski, was found walking on Howe Avenue.
Shelton police, the Shelton Fire Marshall’s Office, and the Connecticut State Police Fire Investigation Unit all investigated the fire.
Karolkowski was held on a $250,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Derby Superior Court Monday.
