Suspect Charged in $500K Apartment Building Fire

A Linthicum man faces multiple arson charges after authorities say he set a fire Saturday in a four-story apartment building, which left 14 people homeless.

The Anne Arundel County Fire and Explosives Investigation Unit has filed criminal charges against Brian J. Preissler, 38, of 202 W. Maple Road in Linthicum. He is charged with first-degree arson, second-degree arson, first-degree malicious burning, reckless endangerment, and destruction of property following the two-alarm fire in Linthicum.

About 11:10 a.m. Saturday, the Anne Arundel County Fire Department received a 9-1-1 call reporting a structure fire in the 200 block of West Maple Road in Linthicum. Firefighters found heavy fire to the rear of the second, third and fourth stories of the four-story wood-frame apartment building.

A second alarm was sounded, bringing 45 firefighters to the scene from Baltimore City, Baltimore and Howard Counties and the BWI Airport Fire Department. The fire was brought under control in about three hours.

The building contains nine apartments, six of which were occupied at the time. There were a total of nine residents in the building when the fire began, and everyone safely evacuated before firefighters arrived.

Nine adults and five children were displaced by the fire and are being assisted by the Red Cross.

The damage is estimated at $500,000.

No residents were injured, but two firefighters were taken to local hospitals with minor injuries. They were both discharged by Saturday evening.

»Photos courtesy of Anne Arundel County Fire Department’s Facebook page