Members of the U.S. Marshals Service on Wednesday arrested a man who was wanted for arson following fires and the discovery of more than 150 milk jugs full of gasoline in an abandoned West Philadelphia home last month.
Darren Arnold, 37, was wanted in relation to multiple fires that happened on the 100 block of North 59th Street in August, the Marshals Service said. Police last month discovered 154 one-gallon milk jugs stashed on the first floor of an abandoned, partially burned home on the same block.
Investigators found the jugs Aug. 1 after police received a 911 call for a strong smell of gasoline coming from inside the residence. At the time, police called the incident very dangerous" and "very bizarre." Firefighters said that all of the gas jugs had been removed shortly after their discovery.
The next day, a fire broke out at the rowhome. It was unclear what caused the flames to begin. Firefighters had the fire under, but a family of seven were forced to evacuate because of the blaze. Two other adjacent rowhomes were also being investigated for fire damage.
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