Man Charged With Arson After Apartment Fire In Cedarhurst

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A man has been accused of setting eight fires in his apartment on Long Island allegedly because he was mad about being evicted.

As WCBS 880's Sophia Hall reported, the smell of smoke lingered in the air Saturday morning on Cedarhurst Avenue in Nassau County after authorities said Douglas Drummond set the fires inside his unit.

The fire spread and frightened residents ran out of the building for safety.

One tenant told Hall she was at work when the fire broke out.

"They called me, I came rushing to see if my dog was fine. My neighbors had taken him out," she said. "(Were you able to go back?) Yes. (Because some people weren't.) Yes, in the middle section, where the fire was and my neighbor under the fire, she was not able to go back. She'll be out for a while."

Patricia lives right underneath Drummond and said all her belongings are ruined.

"Here we have been busy all day, packing and trying to salvage as much as possible but clearly it's been quite challenging for us to do this," she told 1010 WINS' Gary Baumgarten.

Drummond and a 24-year-old neighbor were treated for smoke inhalation.

Residents told Hall Drummond is the local window washer. He has been charged with arson and was expected to be arraigned Saturday.

For now, Patricia and others who have been displaced are being put up in a motel by the Red Cross, Baumgarten reported.