Fire officials in Tampa say a man is in custody, accused with trying to keep them from entering a burning apartment. The man was hospitalized under the Baker Act after he was accused of starting the fire, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
The incident happened early Friday morning at a multi-unit apartment complex in South Tampa.
Tampa Fire Rescue spokesman Jason Penny said in a news release that arriving firefighters saw a man in a second story window with a hammer, trying to keep them from entering the unit. Other firefighters went in through another entrance, along with Tampa police officers who were riot shields to prevent potential injury.
Penny says firefighters got inside a barricaded bedroom and put out the fire. Police officers took the man into custody after he'd barricaded himself in a bathroom. He was taken to a hospital for mental health observation and is likely to be charged with felony arson.
