A woman from the Waldo County town of Knox faces charges of arson and attempted murder after allegedly setting fire to a home where she was staying.
The fire was reported Monday at about 10:43 p.m. by someone at the house at 1647 Bailey Road in Knox, according to the Maine fire marshal’s office.
The fire was primarily in a single bedroom, and occupants of the home were able to suppress it with extinguishers and water before firefighters arrived.
Fire marshal’s investigators were called in “due to suspicious circumstances” and determined that the fire had been intentionally set.
The investigators took Jessica Allsop, 41, who had been temporarily staying at the home, into custody. She was taken to Waldo County Jail and charged with two counts of criminal attempt to commit murder, arson, and violating conditions of release.
Two other people who were in the home at the time of the fire were evaluated by local ambulance personnel for smoke inhalation. Several dogs that were inside the residence at the time of the fire escaped without injury, according to the fire marshal’s office.
