A 44-year-old Safford man was arrested Friday night on suspicion of arson after witnesses told police they saw him break into his former girlfriend's empty apartment shortly before smoke started pouring out of the apartment and the fire alarm began blaring. A 92-year-old woman living in a nearby apartment had to be evacuated from her home.
Safford Police received a call shortly after 10:30 p.m. Friday about a man breaking a window at a 20th Avenue apartment complex. When they arrived, they found an empty apartment on fire and an elderly woman in a nearby apartment, according to police reports. The woman was led to safety as other officers worked to subdue the flames until firefighters arrived. One witnesses told police she saw a man later identified as Stephen Salas, 44, break a window in the apartment prior to the fire.