A Bloomington man was arrested Monday after he allegedly set fire to his own apartment, possibly as part of a plan to leave the state and begin life anew, according to the police.
Evan Schaffer, 22, was charged with arson. Police and firefighters responded near 6 p.m. to the apartment he shares with his girlfriend at Knightridge Apartments on the 600 block of South State Road 446.
The fire was contained to the bedroom of Schaffer’s apartment, Bloomington Police Department Sgt. Dana Cole said. Nobody was harmed in the fire.
Authorities originally believed the fire was started by a cigarette left in the bedroom, Cole said. A fire investigator called BPD officers back to the scene after he found motor oil on the walls and floor of the bedroom. A bucket of oil was also found on the floor.
Schaffer, his girlfriend and their dog returned shortly after the fire was put out. He admitted to smoking a cigarette in the bedroom before leaving but denied setting the fire. When police noted what appeared to be oil on his clothes, he said he had been working on a car.
The fire investigator determined the fire was arson, and police arrested Schaffer and took him to the Monroe County Correctional Center. Schaffer’s girlfriend told police he had talked in the past about getting rid of everything and starting fresh.
Jack Evans
