AUBURN — Authorities charged a worker at Big Lots with setting fire to a couch inside the store Saturday while the store was open for business.
The Office of State Fire Marshal arrested Ryan Graffam, 22, on Monday afternoon on a charge of arson, a Class A crime punishable by up to 30 years in prison.
The store was evacuated by employees at about 7 p.m. Saturday when the fire started. The Auburn Fire Department responded.
Investigators say Graffam set fire to a couch in a storage area in the back of the store, reported it to store management and then put out the fire.
No injuries were reported.
The couch was destroyed and two couches stored nearby were damaged, according to a news release by Maine State Police spokesman Steve McCausland.
State and local fire investigators were at the scene.
Graffam was interviewed outside his home Monday evening, arrested and taken to the Androscoggin County Jail where he was held in lieu of $10,000 bail.
His initial court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday.
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