Man charged with arson, uttering threats following Pictou County house fire
3 people escaped the blaze, which police say was deliberately set
Pictou County RCMP have charged a man with arson and uttering threats following a weekend fire that chased three people from a home on Pictou Landing Road in Hillside, N.S.
Police allege Scott Mitchell Anderson, 35, of New Glasgow deliberately set the fire while the people were home in the early hours of Aug. 8. Police further allege Anderson made threats to burn down the same home on July 28, but left the scene before officers arrived.
Anderson was arrested without incident after a short foot chase on Aug. 8. He's scheduled to appear in provincial court in Pictou on Aug. 12 and is remanded into custody pending a bail hearing.
The people who lived in the house told police they smelled gasoline before they smelled smoke, according to a news release from the RCMP. They fled as it went up in flames and police were alerted around 3:05 a.m.
While local fire departments were able to keep the fire from spreading to other nearby houses, it severely damaged the home.
MORE TOP STORIES