City police arrested a 45-year-old resident of a downtown supportive-housing building after he allegedly lit a mattress on fire in his fourth-floor apartment — leading 17 people to be evacuated from the building. The New Haven Police Department (NHPD) announced that arrest in a press release po sted to the social media site X on Friday morning. That press release states that, on Thursday at around 10:19 p.m., city police officers were dispatched to Liberty Safe Haven at 210 State St. for a fire alarm activation. “Officers determined that the cause of the alarm was a mattress that was set on fire in an apartment on the fourth floor, causing fire damage to one unit and water damage from the sprinkler system to several others.” The press release states that, working with building staff, city police officers “were quickly able to determine that the fire was intentionally set” by Doel Tirado, the resident of the apartment with the burning mattress. State court records show that Tirado has been charged with one felony count of arson in an occupied building and one misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment in the first degree. Tirado has not entered pleas to either of those charges and is currently being held on a $50,000 bond. On Monday, the Independent obtained a copy of a reporting officer narrative written by Officer Paul Bratu in connection with Tirado’s arrest. Bratu wrote that, when he arrived at Liberty Safe Haven on Thursday at 10:19 p.m., city Fire Marshal Jonthan Kendall said that the fire had been put out by the building’s sprinkler system. Kendall said that the cause of the alarm was a mattress that appeared to have been set on fire in a fourth-floor apartment. Liberty Safe Haven staff told Bratu that the organization “caters to individuals who require ongoing assistance due to substance abuse, mental health issues and combinations thereof,” according to Bratu’s report. Staff said that roughly 17 individuals were evacuated from the building due to the fire. Staff members said that the fire originated in the fourth-floor apartment that is occupied Tirado, who has been a Liberty Safe Haven resident since May 2025. Staff said that, when that man was seen leaving the apartment complex soon after the fire broke out, “he indicated he did not care” about the fire. Staff also said that Tirado also recently “made threats about burning down the building.” Bratu obtained a copy of an incident report from April 15 in which Tirado reportedly said to the building’s security personnel that “he would burn down the place and watch people die in this mfer.” Staff told Bratu that Tirado had recently been seen at Marco Polo Pizza nearby on Crown Street. Bratu walked over to the restaurant and observed a man matching Tirado’s description, including temporary face tattoos that had been described by Liberty Safe Haven staff. Bratu wrote that, as he approached the suspect, the latter began to walk away “but stopped when I called his name.” He then placed Tirado in handcuffs and transported him to police headquarters at 1 Union Ave. without incident. A police records check revealed that Tirado had two outstanding warrants for his arrest on charges of failure to appear in the second degree and violation of probation. Based on Tirado’s “statement recorded in the internal report, the preliminary indication that the mattress was intentionally set on fire, his indifference that his apartment was the source of the fire and his knowledge that the building houses other individuals,” Bratu wrote, Tirado is found in violation of arson in the first degree and reckless endangerment in the first degree. The post Mattress Fire Leads To Arson Arrest appeared first on New Haven Independent. ...read more read less