A Washington DC man has been charged with arson at several house fires in recent months, including an April fire that injured 5 DCFD Firefighters, some of them very severely.
Arsonist Maurice T. Dews, 26, was arrested yesterday after he reportedly set fire to a vacant house in Northeast Washington DC. Dew had been under investigation in a series of arsons at vacant houses in Maryland and DC in recent years.
Although Arsonist Dews remains a suspect in those other fires, he has been charged in only 3 fires so far, all in DC, including the April 8 fire on 48th Place NE.
One of the 5 D.C. Firefighters injured that morning, Chucky Ryan, suffered burns on about 30 percent of his body and has had several operations. FF Ramon Hounshell, who was also burned, has required multiple skin grafts-both are undergoing rehabilitation. FF Ryan also serves as the Fire Chief of the Riverdale VFD in nearby Prince Georges County, MD. Firefighters Theodore Douglas, Warren Deavers and Robert Alvarado also were injured in the April 8 fire but have since returned to duty.
Dews has provided a videotaped statement to investigators in which he said he “set a number of . . . fires in vacant buildings” in DC and Maryland. He was charged with one count of arson in each of those fires, said DCFD’s Pete Piringer. Dews has called 911 to report several fires in recent years and has been seen standing in crowds watching buildings burn. His scheduled initial appearance in Court was postponed today, pending a psych evaluation.
