Virginia man arrested, charged with arson in Jan. 27 apartment fire

Sami Kasawat, 33, of Arlington, was arrested on Monday in connection with a Jan. 27 fire in the 5500 block of Columbia Pike.

Crews at the scene of the 6:57 a.m. fire found a small fire on the balcony that was quickly extinguished. During the course of the investigation, fire marshals recovered evidence indicating the fire had been intentionally set.

Kasawat, a resident of the building, was taken into custody at the scene without incident, according to the Arlington County Fire Department Fire Prevention Office.

Kasawat has been charged with one count of arson and one count of endangering other person or property and is being held without bond at the Arlington County Detention Facility.

This remains an active criminal investigation and anyone with information related to this incident is asked to contact the Arlington County Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Office at 703-228-4644 or by emailing [email protected].