Man Sets Fire To House To Keep Woman And Kids From Escaping

(Fort Worth, TX) — An accused arsonist is under arrest for setting several fires at a Fort Worth home to keep a woman and her kids inside the house from escaping. Fort Worth firefighters responded early Saturday morning to a home on Hulen Park Circle.

They put out a car fire and two fires at the entrance to the house, all of which they found had been deliberately set. The fires were a follow-up to a Friday night domestic disturbance call at the same home. A SWAT team arrested the accused arsonist, 39-year-old Courtney Eugene Smith, at an Arlington home early Sunday morning.

There’s no word yet on how Smith and the woman knew each other.