By Jon King / jking@whmi.com


A weekend fire at an abandoned house has ended in the arrest of an arson suspect.

The Lyon Township Fire Department was called to a home off of Pontiac Trail, west of Martindale, at about 4:30 Sunday afternoon on the report of a structure fire. A caller reported it was an abandoned home and he observed smoke coming from the upper story. Crews arrived to find a working fire on the second floor. Knowing the history of the house, crews attacked the fire from the outside first and then entered the house to do a search and fully extinguish the fire.

The Lyon Township Fire Marshall requested an Oakland County Fire Investigator for an origin and cause investigation as arson was suspected. It was then determined the fire was the result of arson and it had originated in two places on the second floor of the house. The caller, a 36-year-old Lyon Township man, became a suspect after it was learned he was on probation and wearing a GPS tether. The tether company was contacted, and it was confirmed that the suspect had been at the location where the fire occurred and at the time it occurred.

The suspect was interviewed and then transported to the Oakland County Jail pending issuance of charges.

Pictures courtesy of Lyon Township Fire Department