Lynn man admits to arson

LYNN – A Lynn man has confessed to setting his single-family home ablaze twice last June 20 without any apparent motive. Firefighters arriving on the second call found him intoxicated and sitting on the outdoor deck with his dog, surrounded by flames.Brian White, 39, 48 Fenton Ave., pleaded guilty in Salem Superior Court on May 8 to a single count of causing wanton destruction of property, for which he received a 21/2-year jail term, six months to be served followed by probation.White also pleaded guilty to a single count of burning personal property, for which he received an additional four-year probation term to be served after the first is completed.”Lynn firefighters were called twice to the same house that day. First it was for a mattress fire and then, about two hours later at 11:50 p.m., a working fire. When they arrived on scene, the second floor of the house was fully involved,” said Fire Lt. David Legere, head of the department’s arson squad.According to Legere, White told firefighters he had been smoking cigarettes and apparently the embers had started the mattress fire. White was so intoxicated when firefighters arrived the second time that police placed him in protective custody while neighbors took care of the dog.An investigation showed that the fire had four different points of origin, and propane torches were found at the scene.”He told us he used the torches to light his cigarettes,” Legere said. “The next day, we went to the police station where he was still in protective custody and talked to him. He claimed he didn’t remember anything, but he swore nobody else had been in the building but him.”Essex County Assistant District Attorney John Brennan handled the case. White was sentenced to the Middleton Jail. He was ordered to submit to random drug and alcohol testing, and when released from jail must enter the Salvation Army’s rehabilitation program in Saugus.”There was really no motive,” said Legere. “He has problems with alcohol. The house was burning, and he was just sitting in a lounge chair on the deck with his big dog, oblivious to everything.”