A Winthrop man was arrested Thursday on an arson charge after he allegedly burned down his mobile home on Route 133, police said.
It’s the second time in the last three years that authorities have arrested 64-year-old Charles Reed on arson charges. Reed pleaded guilty to an arson charge in 2014 after a fire burned down his mobile home on Blue Rock Road in Monmouth.
The latest fire was reported about 2 a.m. Thursday at the mobile home at 386 Route 133 in Winthrop, the state Fire Marshal’s Office said in a news release from Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety. Investigators also charged Reed with violating conditions of release.
“It was pretty much a total loss by the time we arrived,” Winthrop Fire Chief Dan Brooks said. “We had the fire knocked down within the first half hour, but we were delayed a little bit because (Central Maine Power) had to cut the power so we could safely get around the whole building.”
Reed had escaped from the home without injury by the time firefighters arrived, Brooks said. He said he did not know whether Reed’s home was insured.
Reed was taken to the Kennebec County jail Thursday, McCausland said. Fire marshals continued to investigate the cause of the fire.
After the 2014 fire, Reed pleaded guilty to charges of arson and failure to report or control a dangerous fire, according to court documents.
At the time, investigators accused him of lighting the fire using fireworks, a charcoal grill and medical records soaked in kerosene. Reed admitted having set that fire while suffering a mental health crisis, investigators said.
As part of his plea, Reed agreed to probation terms that included not using any kind of firearms or explosives.
Charles Eichacker can be contacted at 621-5642 or at:
ceichacker@centralmaine.com
Twitter: ceichacker
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