A fire that caused $100,000 in damage to a Main Street motel Friday night was intentionally set and came after an earlier disturbance at the motel, officials said.
The fire was reported around 10:45 p.m., but police were first called to the Super 8 at 268 E. Main Street an hour earlier for a noise complaint, according to Newark Police Department spokesman Lt. Andrew Rubin, who noted the occupant of a second-floor room was banging on the walls.
Police warned the man to be quiet and left, but later were called back to the same room for another noise complaint. When officers arrived, they looked through a window and saw fire in the room. They broke out the window and rescued the man, who was lying on the bed, Rubin said.
As other officers evacuated the rest of the motel and alerted the fire department, police led the shirtless man away in handcuffs. He was taken to the hospital to be treated for cuts and smoke inhalation.