A suspect was arrested and charged with arson after forcibly entering and setting fire to his grandmother’s residence in Houston’s Sunnyside neighborhood.
Derrick Cox was arrested in connection with an early Thursday morning house fire at 4114 Botany Lane, where two firefighters were burned while battling the blaze.
The Houston Fire Department responded around 12:15 a.m. after spotting smoke and flames coming from the home. Firefighters quickly entered the residence searching for occupants but found no one inside.
During efforts to control the fire, a captain and a probationary firefighter sustained burns and were transported to Memorial Hermann Texas Medical Center. The probationary firefighter has since been released, while the captain remains hospitalized.
BACKGROUND: Firefighter suffers burns after getting trapped inside home on Houston’s South Side
Arson investigators believe Cox forcibly entered his grandmother’s home by kicking down the front door, then set a fire in a bedroom while she was at a neighbor’s house.
Cox was charged with felony arson and is held on a $45,000 bond. The Houston Fire Department’s Arson Division continues to investigate.