WESTFIELD – A resident of a supervised living program has been arrested on an arson charge following a fire Monday night at the city-owned building at 306 Elm Street.
City firefighters responded to a 10:17 p.m. call from a resident of a group home administered by Behavioral Health Network, a non-profit community behavioral health agency, who said that his bedroom was filled with smoke.
The responding firefighters report that they found the fire was confined to a closet although smoke damage was more widespread.
The fire was extinguished and the resident said that he had left about 9 p.m. to visit a friend on Union Street but found his friend was not at home.
The man said that when he returned to his bedroom he found it full of smoke so, after calling 911 with his cell phone, he warned all the other occupants to leave the building.
The three-story brick building houses 10 apartments occupied by residents with various mental health difficulties who are supervised by a BHN staff worker from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m.
Lt. David Ragazzini said that he began an interview with the resident, James H. Gagon, 50, of 306 Elm St., before Gagon asked to speak with Ragazzini in private.
The interview moved to his bedroom where, Ragazzini reports, Gagnon asked if he was going to be prosecuted. When Ragazzini asked him why he might be prosecuted, Gagon told him that he had set the fire.
Ragazzini reports the man said he would be more comfortable talking elsewhere and he was taken to the police station to continue the interview.
There, Gagnon told Ragazzini that he had been upset with a staff member when he set the fire.
He said that he had had a visitor in his room earlier but the staffer told him that he could not have visitors in his room and his guest left.
Gagnon, who said that he smoke cigarettes, said that he was still upset with the staff member so he went into his closet and used his lighter to ignite his basket of soiled laundry.
Then, he said, he closed the door and left the building.
When he got to Union Street, he told Ragazzini, he decided to return because he didn’t want anyone to be hurt.
When he found his room filled with smoke, he said, he first used his cellphone to report the fire and then got everybody out of the building.
Gagnon was arrested yesterday afternoon for arson of a dwelling house.
He is expected to be arraigned today in Westfield District Court.
