New York City Fire Department (FDNY) officials said on Tuesday that an unhinged woman, 41, set a Harlem apartment on fire that left four people injured.
Tawana Dobson was charged with second-degree arson last Wednesday, which was three days after the fire destroyed an apartment near Malcolm X Boulevard, reported New York Daily News.
FDNY posted on Instagram that Fire Marshals arrested Dobson for a "fire which occurred at 117 West 142 Street in Manhattan."
Sources said that Dobson suffers from a mental illness. She was in the apartment when she reportedly ignited some combustibles. She had found them around the house about 4.30 pm on March 13. After igniting the combustibles, the blaze quickly grew. Firefighters were met with massive yellow and orange flames that were coming out of the windows of the fourth-floor apartment.
Fire officials said that four civilians were taken to hospitals. They were treated for minor injuries caused by the fire, but it was not clear if Dobson was one of the injured people. After a brief investigation, she was arrested and then taken to Bellevue Hospital for a psychiatric exam, according to Yahoo! Sports.
FDNY officials have been keeping themselves busy. The FDNY said that a massive blaze broke out early Wednesday that left a 67-year-old man hurt, reported New York Post. Just after 4 am, firefighters responded to the two-story house on East 9th Street near Foster Avenue in Kensington. There they encountered heavy fire on the first and second floors.
FDNY said that a 67-year-old man was found in the basement. He was not breathing and had cardiac arrest. According to Captain Jim Kiesling from Squad One of the FDNY’s Special Operations Command, the man was “unconscious and entangled in a chair." Kiesling said that he immediately transmitted an urgent call over the radio which "will clear the air."
He added that the chief acknowledged, and by the time he got the victim "untangled and brought him over to the doors, help was already there." The officials wrapped webbing straps around the man, and "they proceeded to extricate the victim.” Police said that the man was taken to a medical center, where he was listed in stable condition on Wednesday afternoon.
According to FDNY Deputy Chief Joseph Duggan, Jr., five firefighters were also hospitalized with minor injuries.
