Man Arrested For Setting Series of Arsons in DC

WASHINGTON - A D.C. man has been arrested and charged with setting a series of fires in northeast D.C. One of those fires was responsible for injuring five firefighters.

Maurice Dews was arrested this week after a witness saw him trying to set a house on fire directly across the street from the house on 48th Place in Northeast where the five firefighters were injured in April.

According to the court affidavit, Dews has confessed to setting the fires and is suspected in several arsons going back to 2007.

A witness said he saw the 26-year-old use a lighter to set the house on fire. After he was taken into custody, investigators said he confessed to setting the two fires on 48th Place, one on Grant Street in Northeast and two others on Hayes Street.

According to the court affidavit, Dews is a suspect in a series of arsons in Maryland as well.

“This impacts everyone. It impacts our insurance costs, it impacts our safety, it impacts our lifestyle in the District and when one individual for sport decides to start burning places to get a reaction, it’s a good reaction by law enforcement to put handcuffs on him,” said Rich Marianos of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Dews, who is described by some residents in the area as homeless, has been staying with friends at a house on 50th Street.

Sierra Johnson, who lives at the house, said Dews had a job at a Papa John’s Pizza restaurant in northwest D.C.

"I just think that for someone who goes around setting fires, I'm just kind of glad that he's not here because he could get upset and my grandmother is letting him stay here and he could get upset and the next thing we know, we could wake up and our house is on fire. You can't trust someone like that,” said Johnson.

At the fire on 48th Place back in April, five firefighters were briefly trapped when a sudden flashover engulfed them in flames.

The court affidavit said Dews has admitted to setting this fire on Hayes Street last month where a firefighter was also injured.

He has been formally charged with setting three fires and he is a suspect in at least six others, two in D.C. and four in Maryland.

The investigators said in the affidavit that Dews was observed as among the first people at the scene of fires multiple times since 2007. He has also been observed in drinking, taking photos and videotaping fires and has called 911 to report several fires.