Man Arrested In Connection With Arson At Stillwater Shelter

A Stillwater man is behind bars, accused of starting a fire inside a homeless shelter.

It happened just before 10:30 p.m. Friday when a few of the residents at the Mission of Hope noticed something was wrong. Smoke was coming from one of the rooms and when they tried to get the door open, it was stuck, realizing some bunk beds had been shoved up against the door.

"Had to bust in, moved the bunk beds out of the way," said Aaron Cole, Chairman of the Board or Mission of Hope.

Luckily one of the residents in the past had been a volunteer firefighter. He was able to grab a fire extinguisher and help put out the flames.

"We're exemplary," said Cole. "They were able to get the fire out get everyone out of the building, our employee did exactly what she was supposed to do."

According to police, 36-year-old Trevor Chapman was staying in the room and escaped out the back window after using a torch to set the sheets of one of the beds on fire. Chapman was found just a few feet away from the shelter.

"When officers initially made contact with him and started inquiring about the fire and asked if he set the fire and he said he had set the fire," said Lt. Kyle Bruce, with Stillwater Police.

Chapman was arrested on first-degree arson. Those with Mission of Hope said no one was hurt and there was no other damage to the rest of the building.

They tell News 9 they're the only shelter in Stillwater and with the recent weather conditions, they say they’re fortunate they were able to put out the fire in time.

"We were about at capacity and so it could have been catastrophic," Cole said.

Police say they’re still unsure what Chapman's motive was but will continue to investigate this incident.