The Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office has charged a Solon man in connection with an October house fire, according to a news release from the Maine Department of Public Safety.

Randy Ruest II, 26, was arrested by fire investigators Tuesday night and charged with arson, the release stated. Fire marshals say Ruest set fire to the outside of an occupied house on South Main Street in Solon on Oct. 5.

“Investigators say Ruest walked to the house with a beer bottle half full of gasoline, lit the fire and then ran back to his own home on Pleasant Street,” the release stated. “The fire was quickly extinguished by the Solon Fire Department with minor damage to the outside of the building.”

The house was inhabitated by Thomas Roderick, 31, and according to investigators Ruest and Roderick had a longstanding dispute including a fight at one point last summer.

Ruest was arrested at the Solon Fire Department where he was interviewed by fire investigators and then taken to the Somerset County Jail. Bail was set at $10,000.

Comments are not available on this story.