A 56-year-old Plainfield woman has been arrested and charged with arson and five counts of reckless endangerment in connection with a July fire that broke out inside her Moosup Village apartment while five other people were in the building. No injuries were reported, but investigators say the blaze was deliberately set.
Plainfield police said Tina Carlo was taken into custody on an arrest warrant stemming from the July 23 fire at Apartment 6 in a three-story, multi-family building at 39 Prospect St., according to WFSB. The station reports she is charged with one count of arson and five counts of reckless endangerment tied to the five other residents who were in the building at the time.
A Neighbor's Scramble to Put Out the Flames
The station's report describes how neighbor Kevin Houghton said he smelled smoke and heard the fire alarm before forcing open Carlo's apartment door and finding a fire burning near a dresser. When Houghton told Carlo to leave, he said she responded, “let it burn.” He said he grabbed two fire extinguishers and knocked down the flames himself, while another tenant, Donald McClure, helped get Carlo out of bed and out of the apartment.
Carlo then left the building on foot carrying a blanket, per the same account, and was later found at the Moosup Fire Department, where she said she wanted to end her life. Investigators determined that two separate fires had been set inside her apartment, and the Plainfield Fire Marshal's Office classified the blaze as intentionally set.
Carlo Reportedly Described Hearing Voices
In a phone call with Sgt. Ryan Barile, Carlo said she had stopped taking her bipolar medications and that she heard voices instructing her to start fires, the station's report states. She told the sergeant she believed she had used her lighter to start the fire in her apartment.
Carlo is being held on a $75,000 set bond while she awaits a plea, and her next court date is scheduled for December 11, 2026. Case status and scheduling for Connecticut criminal matters can be tracked through the Connecticut Judicial Branch. The arson and reckless endangerment counts against Carlo remain charges, not a conviction.
