A 38-year-old Aurora man was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of starting a massive fire that torched a partially built apartment complex along Leetsdale Drive in Denver, city officials said.
Tony Becerra was seen on surveillance footage entering and leaving the area shortly before the building caught fire on Jan. 2, the Denver Fire Department said in a news release.
The five-alarm fire burned for several days and torched the length of the city block, with fire officials describing it was the worst fire Denver crews have fought in at least 30 years.
Initial 911 callers reported the person who entered the building was homeless, but Denver fire officials on Wednesday said Becerra is not experiencing homelessness.
The fire was first reported at 6:45 p.m. on Jan. 2 at Harker Heights apartments at 5337 Leetsdale Drive, a 283-unit complex scheduled to open later this year.
Flames quickly consumed the property, roughly the size of four football fields, and damaged several nearby homes as more than 100 firefighters pumped millions of gallons of water on the blaze.
Denver fire investigators worked with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ national response team on the case, which allowed for the quick collection of evidence and a faster arrest, department officials said.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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