KENNEDY, N.Y. — A 28-year-old man has been charged with arson after a fire destroyed two homes Wednesday in Chautauqua County.
First responders were called to the blaze Wednesday morning on 2nd Street in the Town of Kennedy.
Kennedy Volunteer Fire Chief Keith Bean told 2 On Your Side that the fire started in a home on the corner. By the time fire crews got there, Bean said there was nothing they could do to save it. The fire then quickly spread to the house next door.
Following an investigation by the NYSP Bureau of Criminal Investigation and the Chautauqua County Fire Investigators Team, Aubrey E. Baize, 28, was arrested for arson in the third degree, a class C felony.
According to a spokesperson for New York State Police, Baize was allegedly seen entering the first house just before the fire started.
Baize was processed at the State Police barracks in Jamestown and has been remanded to the Chautauqua County Jail where he is waiting for an arraignment.
Troopers say the investigation is ongoing.