Anchorage police say a 42-year-old man was arrested after setting multiple fires outside a Lowe’s store on East Tudor Road late Monday, causing thousands of dollars in damage and activating the building’s fire suppression system.
According to the Anchorage Police Department, officers were dispatched at about 9:23 p.m. Monday to reports of several small fires on the exterior of the Lowe’s at 333 E. Tudor Road. Fire crews from the Anchorage Fire Department were already on scene when officers arrived, battling flames on the northwest and northeast sides of the building.
AFD said in an email to Alaska’s News Source Monday night that the fires were confined to the exterior and that no injuries were reported. An investigator was called to the scene to determine the cause of the blaze. Police said their preliminary investigation indicates a Duraflame log was thrown into bundles of cardboard stacked outside the store, igniting the fires.
APD said officers located an adult male suspect nearby and took him into custody. Police later identified him as Falani Solomona, 42, of Anchorage. He was booked in the Anchorage Correctional Complex on charges of first-degree arson, criminal mischief, and violating conditions of release, according to APD.
Court records say a Lowe’s loss prevention agent provided officers with a photo of the person who started the fire. Witnesses told police the suspect fled southeast.
