Man charged with arson after ‘suspicious’ Del City apartment fire

DEL CITY, Okla. (KFOR) - A man has been charged with arson after allegedly starting a fire with a homemade butane torch in his Del City apartment on Thanksgiving Day.

The Del City Fire Department said the fire began around 5 a.m. Nov. 23 at Oakridge Village Apartments near Southeast 29th and Bryant.

Investigators deemed the fire suspicious and interviewed one of the occupants of the unit where the fire began. The other occupant left the scene before first responders arrived.

According to the man who stayed on scene, his roommate, now identified as 32-year-old Colton Davis, started an argument the night before after he said Davis could no longer stay in the apartment.

The man told officials he fell asleep in the living room before Davis yelled for help around 4:40 a.m. The man said he heard a "big bang" and Davis said something was on fire before he fled.

When investigators interviewed Davis, he initially said he didn't know what happened, before claiming a lamp may have fallen and started the fire. However, no lamp was found at the scene and the apartment did not have electricity at the time of the fire, according to court documents.

Davis then told officials that he was smoking meth on the couch with a torch he made out of a can of butane and lighter pieces when he caught the couch on fire. Marshals did find a ruptured canister at the scene.

Now, Davis faces a charge of First Degree Arson. An arrest warrant has been issued.

The fire displaced four families and caused an estimated $200,000 in property damage as well as $100,000 in content loss.