A 52-year-old former Detroit firefighter is facing a slate of felony charges after investigators say he set fire to homes, a garage and a dumpster across the city's west side over nearly four weeks, then broke into an active firehouse to steal gear from the crews still working there. Detroit Police arrested Eric Anderson last Friday, closing out an investigation into a string of blazes and thefts that authorities say began in mid-July and stretched into early August.
Anderson allegedly set fires at five separate locations between July 10 and August 4, according to The Detroit News, whose reporting on the case, by Kara Berg, forms the basis of much of what is currently known. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy did not mince words about the allegations. “The alleged criminal actions of this former firefighter are horrifying,” Worthy said, adding that her office will use every lawful means to hold Anderson fully accountable.
A Break-In, Stolen Puppies and a String of Fires
The spree allegedly opened on July 10, when Anderson broke into a home in the 8500 block of Bryden Street and stole a refrigerator, a stove and two pitbull puppies, according to the same account. He is charged with second-degree home invasion and second-degree arson tied to that date, after allegedly setting the Bryden Street home on fire as well. Under Michigan's home invasion statute, that charge alone is a Class C felony carrying up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $3,000 for breaking into a dwelling with intent to commit a felony, larceny or assault, according to Grabel & Associates.
Five days later, on July 15, Anderson allegedly set a commercial dumpster fire in front of a residence in the 8300 block of Bryden Street at 6:37 a.m., then set fire to a garage in the 8500 block of Central Street. Those two incidents brought charges of third-degree and fifth-degree arson — the former a felony carrying up to 10 years in prison under MCL 750.74, the latter a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail under MCL 750.77, per the Michigan Legislature's penal code.
Firehouse Break-In While Crews Were Out on a Call
The most brazen episode allegedly came on July 29, when Anderson broke into the Detroit firehouse in the 300 block of West Chicago while firefighters were away responding to a house fire. He is accused of stealing multiple personal items belonging to Detroit firefighters from the station during that window, and of setting fire to a home in the 8500 block of Roselawn Street around the same period. Detroit Fire Department members had responded to a house fire that same day before returning to find the theft, the Detroit News reported.
Detroit Fire Commissioner Charles Simms called the firehouse theft especially troubling given Anderson's own background with the department. The allegations are deeply disturbing because they involve a former Detroit Fire Department member and an alleged firehouse theft, Simms said. He added a warning aimed at anyone who might target first responders: People who deliberately set fires or steal from a firehouse will be held accountable.
The spree's final alleged fire came on August 4, when Anderson set fire to a home in the 8500 block of Roselawn Street, resulting in an additional second-degree arson charge. Detroit police investigators had spent weeks working to identify the person responsible for the string of arson fires on the city's west side. This process culminated in Anderson's arrest the day after that final blaze yesterday.
Full Slate of Charges and Prison Exposure
In total, Anderson faces second-degree arson, breaking and entering a building, four counts of larceny, and four counts of stealing and retaining a financial transaction device, on top of the home invasion and lower-degree arson counts tied to earlier dates. Second-degree arson alone is a felony under Michigan Penal Code Section 750.73 punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000 or three times the value of the property destroyed, according to Michigan's penal code as compiled by Davis Law Group.
Court records did not list a defense attorney for Anderson as of Saturday. Under Michigan felony criminal procedure, defendants arrested on multi-count arson and home invasion warrants typically undergo an initial district court arraignment where bail conditions are set, followed by a mandatory probable cause conference scheduled within 14 days, according to the Davis Law Group. It remains unknown what prompted Anderson's resignation from the Detroit Fire Department in June 2023, or whether internal disciplinary records played any role.
A Rare but Recognized Pattern Nationally
Firefighter-involved arson is statistically uncommon relative to the size of the profession, but it is not unheard of. Criminology research and estimates cited by fire safety organizations suggest roughly 100 firefighters across North America are arrested or convicted of setting intentional fires each year, according to Hoodline. A joint technical report from the U.S. Fire Administration and the National Volunteer Fire Council has also found that firefighter arson cases frequently begin with minor nuisance fires — dumpsters or trash containers — before escalating to residential structures, a pattern that broadly tracks the timeline alleged against Anderson, who is accused of starting with a dumpster fire before moving to occupied homes and garages.
The case also arrives just months after a similar incident in neighboring Southfield, where a man was arrested in February on second-degree arson charges after allegedly pouring gasoline behind a city fire station and igniting it while firefighters were inside, as Hoodline previously reported. Vacant and residential structure fires carry a disproportionately high risk of arson and firefighter injury nationally, with roughly 28,000 such blazes reported each year, according to U.S. Fire Administration data.
Anderson should not be confused with a different Detroit man of the same name — an exoneree who served nine years in prison after a wrongful 2010 conviction before his 2019 release, a case examined in a November 2025 report from the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office Conviction Integrity Unit. Eric Anderson went on to co-found the Organization of Exonerees in Detroit and is unrelated to the arson and home invasion case now before Wayne County courts.
