An East Haven man has been arrested after police were called to the scene of a house fire that they set he intentionally set.

East Haven Police received a 911 call on Friday, Jan. 3 from a caller who said she had just returned to her foreclosed property on Henry Street and could smell smoke and hear the smoke detectors sounding. When firerighters arrived on scene, they found the fire contained to a pile of combustible material in a rear bedroom that contained no furtniture, which prevented the fire from getting worse.

Through a collaborative investigation between the East Haven Police Department Detective Division, East Haven Fire Department Fire Marshal's Office, and Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosives Unit, it was determined that a former resident, Joshua Miller, 26, intentionally set the fire after retrieving some personal belongings at the residence. Miller told investigators that while at the house, he became emotional about losing the house to the bank and threw a lit cigarette near a towel, which set the blaze. Miller stated he then walked out of the house and locked the front door. Miller then drove to the center of East Haven where his mother was, picked her up at a doctor's office and reported the fire to her, which prompted her to respond to the residence. She then called 911 when she arrived to the smell of smoke and the sound of smoke detectors within the residence.

Based on the East Haven Fire Marshal and Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosives Origin and Cause Investigation, Miller was placed under arrest and charged with arson in the third degree, criminal mischief in the first degree, and falsely reporting in the second degree. Miller was transported to the East Haven Police Department and was processed. He was held on a $100,000.00 bond and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 15 at G.A. 23 in New Haven.