A man who reported being trapped inside a burning building has now been charged with setting it on fire.
Firefighters were praising 22-year-old Devon Michael Rose of Rochester earlier this month after a fire at 386 Genesee Street. Rose called 911, said he was trapped in a first-floor bedroom and calmly gave fire crews directions to find him. But now the Rochester Fire Department’s Arson Task Force says it was Rose who intentionally set that fire on April 2nd, plus a later fire at the same building on April 4th. Rose has been charged with two counts of second degree arson. Rose also allegedly gave fire investigators a false account of what happened and how he discovered the fire.
Fire investigators say Rose set both fires in his apartment’s dining room, then called 911 claiming he was trapped.
They’re also investigating a third fire at the same building that occurred on March 18th. Rose hasn’t been charged with that fire, but they say evidence shows he may have tampered with an electrical outlet causing electrical arcing and smoke.
Police say Rose was previously convicted of arson in another case outside the city, and has also been convicted of falsely reporting emergencies that hadn’t occurred. Investigators say they believed he would have hurt or killed someone if he hadn’t been stopped.
Rose is currently in jail awaiting arraignment.