Florida man lit his own home on fire in plot to kill dogs, deputies say

WALTON COUNTY, Fla. — A Florida man was arrested after investigators said he intentionally set his home on fire with the family pets inside.

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The massive fire consumed the Freeport house, bringing companies from multiple fire stations to battle the flames, WJHG reported. Fire crews battled the blaze for more than an hour before getting it under control.

In a news release, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office said that when first responders arrived at the scene, the house was already engulfed in flames and the home’s owner, Kevin Powell, was “behaving very erratically.”

Powell allegedly refused to stay away from the home while firefighters were working to extinguish the fire and is accused of taking a crowbar from one of the fire engines and using it to shatter the windows of his own pickup truck, WTVY reported.

Deputies said in the news release that Powell admitted to spreading ammunition around the inside of the home, locking his two dogs in a closet, and lighting the floor outside of it on fire.

Powell told officers he used a blowtorch to light the carpet on fire while covering his mouth with a wet shirt and used a gun to shoot out the home’s windows to further accelerate the fire, WTVY reported.

One dog escaped from the fire but the other was killed.

Deputies said that they arrested Powell after his admission. In the news release, deputies said Powell was verbally abusive and made several attempts to escape from handcuffs.

Police told WTVY that Powell was a 26-year veteran of Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal, and that he has a wife and son who were not home at the time.

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