By Olean Times Herald:
An Olean man suspected in several arson cases is being held without bail following a Saturday fire.
Responders from the city police and fire departments responded to a fire at approximately 1:44 a.m., which was immediately deemed suspicious and led to an arrest within the hour.
“(We) were alerted to a structure fire with explosion and possible entrapment at 109 S. 16th St.,” said Fire Chief Tim Richardson Sunday. “Crews arrived three minutes later to discover a working structure fire with an exposure structure, the rear of 1619 West State Street (Austin Lack and Key) involved as well.”
Deemed under control at 2:15 a.m. and extinguished at 2:45 a.m., the city of Olean Fire Investigation Team and city of Olean Police began investigating the cause of the fire, which was deemed suspicious.
That investigation led to the arrest at approximately 2:08 a.m. Saturday, of Matthew M. Hitchcock, 46, of Olean. Hitchcock was charged with third-degree arson, a class C felony, and second-degree criminal mischief, a class D felony, and remanded to Cattaraugus County Jail without bail.
Hitchcock was also arrested for arson on Oct. 8, 2021, after allegedly igniting a fire at 511 N. Seventh St., which was a total loss. He was again charged two days later with another arson at 116 S. 16th St. in the city. The Cattaraugus County District Attorney’s Office has released no updates on the prosecution of those cases.
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