A 56-year-old Ogden woman has been charged with starting a fire at an apartment complex on Tuesday that critically injured her live-in boyfriend and damaged a handful of other apartments.
The woman started the fire after her boyfriend apparently locked her out of the apartment, according to a probable cause statement filed in 2nd District Court.
Witnesses told police they saw the woman kick in a window of the apartment from the outside, and then the fire started.
The woman later told police she lighted a blanket on fire through the window, which then started the sofa on fire and eventually engulfed the apartment, according to the court documents.
The 66-year-old man, whose name has not been released pending notification of kin, was taken to a Salt Lake City area hospital, where he was in “unstable” condition, said Ogden police Lt. Timothy Scott.
Three police officers who were first on the scene attempted to enter the apartment and rescue the man, but were overcome by smoke and had to back away, Scott said. Two of the officers were treated for smoke inhalation.
Soon after, Ogden firefighters wearing protective gear located the man just inside the apartment, Scott said.
The woman was charged Wednesday with first-degree felony aggravated arson. She also was charged with class B misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia for allegedly holding a pipe commonly used for the consumption of methamphetamine, court documents say.
She was booked into the Weber County jail. Bail was set at $21,000.
Crews from Ogden and Roy fire departments were dispatched at 1:18 p.m. to the apartment house at 2638 Adams Ave.
The blaze — which affected six of the three-story building’s 18 units — was out by 1:50 p.m.
Deputy Ogden Fire Chief Eric Bauman said Tuesday that the cost of the damage was preliminarily estimated at $120,000.
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