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By
Peter Hermann
Dec. 29, 2020 at 12:09 p.m. EST
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A 26-year-old man has been charged with breaking into a house in Georgetown on Monday and igniting piles of charcoal briquettes to set fire to interior rooms, causing significant damage to the $3.1 million home, D.C. police and fire officials said.

The fire in the 3200 block of S Street NW was reported about 1:10 p.m.

The family that lives in the house was away, according to an advisory neighborhood commissioner, and could not immediately be reached.

A police report says fire investigators found “the fire was intentionally ignited” using “small piles of charcoal briquettes placed in areas to spread the fire.” No injuries were reported, and police estimated damage at $1 million.

Police have charged a man with intentionally setting the home on fire.
Police have charged a man with intentionally setting the home on fire. (D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services department)
Police said Samuel Carey Kalinski was charged with one count of arson. Public records show an address connected to him in the Glover Park neighborhood, less than one mile from the S Street house in Northwest Washington.

Neither an arrest affidavit nor a police report described a possible motive. A woman who answered the phone Tuesday at an address listed for Kalinski and identified herself using the Kalinski name declined to comment.

D.C. Superior Court Magistrate Judge Renee Raymond on Tuesday ordered Kalinski detained and set a hearing for Jan. 21. She said there is “pretty strong evidence that Mr. Kalinski started the fire.” She also noted that Kalinski has a pending assault charge in Fairfax County, Va.

Kalinski’s attorney, Matthew F. Davies with the Public Defender Service, said video that authorities found in the case is not a conclusive match to his client, and other than his arrest in Virginia two weeks ago, Kalinski “has an impeccable background.”

Vito Maggiolo, a spokesman for the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department, said it took firefighters about 20 minutes to extinguish the blaze in the six-bedroom, 3,600-square foot home.

A police report says firefighters found the yard ransacked. Maggiolo said that prompted fire investigators to immediately seek out surveillance video, and a camera was located on a nearby business.

Police said video showed a man jumping a fence shortly after 11 a.m. and then entering the house by kicking in a rear door. An arrest affidavit says the video shows the man entering and exiting the home several times, carrying items outside. About 1:10 p.m., the video shows smoke coming from the house and the man leaving.

Fire officials said investigators saw a man outside the burning house who matched the description of the person in the video. They said the man began walking away and was detained by the investigators a block away.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have a no paywall link or can I get a summary?

Sometimes I think the Post puts links in DCUM themselves. I will never subscribe. So, thanks to the one person who wrote the suspect's name, I googled and came up with this from the Georgetowner. I mean, it's interesting, but not worth a thread, honestly.
https://georgetowner.com/articles/2020/12/31/local-man-charged-with-arson-in-s-st-house-fire/

You think THIS is how the Post is getting record traffic?

Record traffic? See, the Post does come here to promote clicks.

OP here. 1) I don't work for wapo and 2) they have experienced record traffic due to our current political leadership. Not DCUM.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have a no paywall link or can I get a summary?

Sometimes I think the Post puts links in DCUM themselves. I will never subscribe. So, thanks to the one person who wrote the suspect's name, I googled and came up with this from the Georgetowner. I mean, it's interesting, but not worth a thread, honestly.
https://georgetowner.com/articles/2020/12/31/local-man-charged-with-arson-in-s-st-house-fire/

You think THIS is how the Post is getting record traffic?

Record traffic? See, the Post does come here to promote clicks.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have a no paywall link or can I get a summary?

Sometimes I think the Post puts links in DCUM themselves. I will never subscribe. So, thanks to the one person who wrote the suspect's name, I googled and came up with this from the Georgetowner. I mean, it's interesting, but not worth a thread, honestly.
https://georgetowner.com/articles/2020/12/31/local-man-charged-with-arson-in-s-st-house-fire/

You think THIS is how the Post is getting record traffic?

Anonymous wrote:Have a no paywall link or can I get a summary?

Sometimes I think the Post puts links in DCUM themselves. I will never subscribe. So, thanks to the one person who wrote the suspect's name, I googled and came up with this from the Georgetowner. I mean, it's interesting, but not worth a thread, honestly.
https://georgetowner.com/articles/2020/12/31/local-man-charged-with-arson-in-s-st-house-fire/

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Woah. There were a ton of fire, cops, and EMTs on the 3200 block of R Street NW this morning. They blocked the road, I walked thru it with my baby on the way to Montrose Park. They were coming out of the property immediately behind the one that burned. Perhaps more damage to this other house?

I have a hard time seeing how it was only this one house that was damaged.

The house that burned on Dec 29th is 3264 S St. The fire crews were coming out of 3258 R, which shares a backyard border the arson property. I’m wondering if the culprit came back to finish the job?

Anonymous wrote:They wont say anything at the arraignment. It is procedural.

However, the case as reported sounds like mental illness.

Young man goes from no criminal record to a couple of arrests in the last thirty days. I am very glad that nobody was injured. Hopefully Mr. Kalinski gets the help that he needs.

Mental illness or not, why would he pick this particular house?

Anonymous wrote:Woah. There were a ton of fire, cops, and EMTs on the 3200 block of R Street NW this morning. They blocked the road, I walked thru it with my baby on the way to Montrose Park. They were coming out of the property immediately behind the one that burned. Perhaps more damage to this other house?

I have a hard time seeing how it was only this one house that was damaged.

Woah. There were a ton of fire, cops, and EMTs on the 3200 block of R Street NW this morning. They blocked the road, I walked thru it with my baby on the way to Montrose Park. They were coming out of the property immediately behind the one that burned. Perhaps more damage to this other house?

He does sound ill, but I also wonder if he knows the family or has a grudge.

They wont say anything at the arraignment. It is procedural.

However, the case as reported sounds like mental illness.

Young man goes from no criminal record to a couple of arrests in the last thirty days. I am very glad that nobody was injured. Hopefully Mr. Kalinski gets the help that he needs.

Have a no paywall link or can I get a summary?

Anonymous wrote:Super weird story!

Right?! Which is why I am curious. There's got to be a big backstory here, no?

Super weird story!

Has anyone heard more about this story? The motivation behind it?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/georgetown-fire-arson-charge/2020/12/29/9d697762-49d4-11eb-a9f4-0e668b9772ba_story.html

The guy was arraigned today I think?