DAYTON — A Saco man is charged with aggravated attempted murder and arson charges are also expected against him in connection with three fires and a four-hour standoff with police Tuesday.

Police say Donald Henson, 47, tried to kill at least one woman before barricading himself on a Dayton property where a house and truck were burning.

Henson surrendered to police at 7:15 p.m. Tuesday, just a few minutes after a 4.0 earthquake centered in Hollis shook the area, after being holed up in a barn on the Goodwins Mills Road property, said Maine Public Safety spokesman Steve McCausland. He was taken to a local hospital for observation and is now being held in police custody.

McCausland said it appears Henson had set fire in the basement of his home at 2 Maple St. in Saco and then left. The fire burst a water pipe, which extinguished the fire before extensive damage could take place, he said.

Henson then went to Dayton, said McCausland, to the house where his estranged wife was staying. The house is located on the same property as another home, both of which are owned by his mother-in-law, he said.

York County Sheriff Maurice Ouellette said officers barricaded the area around the Dayton property at about 3:45 p.m. after being called there for a report of shots being fired. Sheriff’s deputies encountered gunfire when they went to the area, said Ouellette, as did a state trooper who arrived later. He did not know how many shots had been fired.

McCausland said it was unclear if the shots were fired at the officers.

The deputies and State Police officers set up a perimeter, said Ouellette, and were able to get the man’s wife out of the house, along with another related woman, a neighbor and that neighbor’s child. Police are interviewing the women to try to determine what happened.

“A short time thereafter, there was smoke coming from the house,” he said, and it was “engulfed in flames.”

At about 5 p.m., Ouellette reported that Henson was “contained” to the area and police called in a tactical team to decide on maneuvers. He was not sure of the exact address of the house.

Route 35 from the intersection of Route 5 in Dayton to John Street in the village of Goodwins Mills was closed to traffic for much of the evening.

Twenty-five minutes into the incident, Debbie Boucher, who lives just off Route 35, about one-quarter mile from the scene, said police cars just kept on coming, flowing into the tiny community one after one. She said her husband, an electrical contractor, and her daughter had been headed into town just as officers were arriving. Before police had a chance to cordon off the area, they were yelling at drivers to turn around.

She said she thought she heard gunshots.

Boucher said the situation made her nervous and that she tied-up their German Shepard outside and locked all the doors.

An investigation into whether Henson is connected to the house and vehicle fires on the same Goodwins Mills Road property where the standoff took place is under way. Police say the smoke from the fires made it tough to determine Henson’s exact location during the standoff.

For much of Tuesday evening, the house was left burning unattended as police attempted to subdue Henson after he reportedly fired on officers.

“They couldn’t attack the fire until the standoff was resolved,” said McCausland. “It burned flat.”

No injuries were reported in the incident.

The Maine State Fire Marshal’s Office and Saco Police are investigating the fire at 2 Maple St. in Saco, at the Dayton home and the pickup truck in the driveway of the Dayton home, which was also burned.

“Fire marshals will be working on those three fire scenes,” said McCausland, “and will consult with district attorneys’ office as to what charges will be appropriate. These are three arson fires we’re talking about.”

According to a press release from Saco Deputy Police Chief Jeffrey Holland, the Saco Fire Department responded to the 2 Maple St. fire at 3:22 p.m. The fire was contained to the basement and smoke damage to the upper floors. The caller was passing by when he observed smoke coming from the residence. Investigators from the Fire Marshal’s Office and detectives from Saco Police Department remained on scene until approximately 7 p.m. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Henson spoke out at a public hearing at Saco City Hall in August regarding allowing dogs on the beach. Henson said he had post-traumatic stress disorder, and that his wife had bought him a puppy that had “given me my life back.” He urged city councilors not to prohibit dogs on the beach in the summer.

McCausland said Henson has been dealing with health issues and personal problems, “which led up to the bizarre events of yesterday.”

Henson is being held at York County Jail on $100,000 cash bail and was due to make a first appearance at 1 p.m. at Biddeford District Court this afternoon, according to a booking officer at the jail.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf and the Associated Press contributed to this story. Kristen Schulze Muszynski can be contacted at 282-1535 Ext. 322 or kristenm@journaltribune.com.