Joppa Man Charged in Foxhall Drive Apartment Fire

UPDATE (4 p.m.)—A 28-year-old Joppa man has been charged with arson in connection with an apartment fire on the 200 block of Foxhall Drive that caused $10,000 in damage Sunday morning, the Maryland State Fire Marshal reported.

Ryan Lawrence Spann, 28, of the 500 block of Erickson Court in Joppa, was charged with first and second-degree arson and is being held at the Harford County Detention Center, according to the fire marshal's report.

Investigators said that Spann and a female living on the 200 block of Foxhall Drive in Calvert's Walk had an argument, and she left. When she returned around 1 a.m., there was smoke inside and the smoke alarm was sounding, according to the report.

The woman called 911, and at approximately 1 a.m. Sunday, crews were dispatched for a report of a fire in the building, according to the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company.

Officials found that two fires had been set using household items, the fire marshal reported.

Two bedrooms in a third-floor apartment were on fire, the Harford County Volunteer Fire & EMS Association reported.

While firefighters were investigating, the residents were cleared out of the building.

Some residents had already evacuated, and representatives from the Harford County Sheriff's Office knocked on doors to ensure others got out safely, the Bel Air Volunteer Fire Company said.

It took approximately 10 minutes and 40 firefighters from Bel Air, Abingdon and Joppa-Magnolia to bring the blaze under control, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal's Office.

The fire marshal's canine team, Harford County Sheriff's Office and Maryland State Police assisted in searching for the suspect, who fled the scene after reportedly setting the fires.

Spann was arrested Sunday and is being held at the Harford County Detention Center, where he is awaiting a bond review hearing, the fire marshal said.