Man who started fire at his Modesto home to harm himself faces arson charges, police say

Nearly six hours after Modesto police responded to a report of a man having a mental health crisis and threatening suicide at his east Modesto home, he was in custody and receiving care.

The incident began about noon, Lt. Felton Payne said. A man alone in his home on the 2400 block of East Orangeburg Avenue said he had a propane tank in his garage that he planned to blow up, authorities said.

By about 12:30 p.m., residents of other homes around his were evacuated and the area was taped off. For several hours, officers negotiated with the man.

The incident escalated when he lighted a fire in or just outside his garage. The fire, which was accompanied by loud pops and bangs that could be heard outside the taped-off area, was not from the propane tank being ignited. The man had lighted some other material, Lt. Martha Delgado said.

The detached garage caught fire and grew “substantially,” according to a Modesto Fire Department incident summary.

At about 5:30 p.m., Fire Department Deputy Chief Darin Jesberg told The Bee the fire was under control.

Not long after, about 5:45 p.m., officers were able to take the man into custody. He suffered some burns from the fire and faces charges of arson, Delgado said.

Because the fire had grown, additional resources were dispatched to the scene. After crews knocked down the fire, the switched to offensive mode to fully extinguish it.

This story was originally published November 26, 2022 at 5:12 PM.