A Westbrook man is charged with arson after he allegedly set fire to his ex-girlfriend’s house in Windham after bringing a can of gasoline there in a taxicab.

Nobody was home at the time and nobody was injured in the fire, which caused about $20,000 damage to 199 Pope Road on Thursday night.

Curtis Crawford, 45, who has been living in a Westbrook motel, is being held on $40,000 bail on the arson charge but is also being held without bail, charged with violating probation.

It took Windham firefighters about 15 minutes to control the fire.

Crawford was arrested by Windham police about a half mile away as he waited at a nearby convenience store for a taxi, police said.

Investigators with the State Fire Marshal’s Office say gasoline was poured along the front of the 70-year-old Cape Cod-style home, valued for tax purposes at about $52,000.

Investigators say Crawford was dropped off just prior to the fire by a taxi driver and that he was carrying a can of gasoline.

The fire was reported at 8:31 p.m. and was quickly brought under control by firefighters. No injuries were reported.


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