GARRETT COUNTY, MD – Police have charged the man who allegedly set fire in an apartment building hallway on Tuesday. It was later learned he set off a smoke grenade.
Brad Allen Stover, 48, was charged after determining he was responsible for “attempting to start a fire” within the hallway of his apartment building where he resided.
“On March 22, 2022, just after 3:00 a.m., Bloomington Volunteer Fire Company responded to 20960 Maryland Highway for a reported building fire,” a state fire marshal’s report detailed. “Upon arrival, firefighters discovered smoke coming from the two-story apartment building. While investigating the source of the smoke, tenants reported seeing a man throw what they described as a road flare into the hallway of the building. Firefighters located the device and determined it had burned itself out and requested the Office of the State Fire Marshal to investigate.”
Investigators later located the remains of a pyrotechnic device commonly referred to as a smoke grenade.
“Smoke grenades produce a smoke effect and can blanket their surrounding area in a thick layer of smoke and are for outdoor use only,” investigators reported. “Upon reviewing surveillance footage, investigators observed a suspect, later identified as Stover, ignite the device and place it in the hallway. Stover then exited the apartment building and drove away.”
Stover was charged with arson.