Brookline Police charged an 18-year-old with arson on Wednesday following a fire that ripped through a vacant home adjacent to Pine Manor College in Brookline, according to a Brookline Police Department Facebook post.
Two Boston College Police officers spotted and reported the fire at 2:35 a.m. on Jan. 25 at 89 Woodland Rd., the post reads. The road borders Pine Manor College, which Boston College absorbed in May 2020 and now serves as the University’s COVID-19 isolation housing.
The Brookline Fire Department quickly put out the fire and determined the house was vacant, but not before one firefighter sustained minor injuries, according to the post.
Before spotting the fire, the BCPD officers noticed someone in the area and provided Brookline officials with a description.
According to the post, one Brookline officer traced footprints in the snow to a home on Shaw Road.
Police obtained a search warrant for the home, and further investigation led to the arrest just over a week later.
The 18-year-old, whose name has yet to be released, was charged with willfully and maliciously setting fire to a house and injuring a firefighter as a result of a criminal offense, according to the post. The Brookline District Court arraigned the suspect on Wednesday.
The house last sold in 2018 for $1.8 million, according to Brookline’s assessors database. On Friday, the windows of the home were boarded up and a smokey scent lingered around the property.
“At this time we would like to thank the Boston College Police Department as well as the Brookline Fire Department and the members of the Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Fire & Explosion Investigation Section of the Office of State Fire Marshall,” the post reads.
Images by Victor Stefanescu / Heights Editor
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