From the Fire Marshal’s press office:
UPDATE:
Investigators with the Ocean City Fire Marshal’s Office recently charged Matthew Raymond Doerr, 51, of Ocean City for arson and malicious destruction of property. The charges, filed on April 14, stem from an early morning fire that occurred in March.
First responders were dispatched to 19 St. Louis Avenue on March 11, 2016, at 12:34 a.m., for a reported structure fire. Ocean City police officers arrived on scene and located a two-story, single family home, well involved in fire. Firefighters arrived on scene shortly after and quickly brought the fire under control.
During the investigation, witnesses reported hearing Doerr make statements indicating his intent to set the house on fire. In addition, witnesses told investigators that they saw Doerr leave his porch and walk toward 19 St. Louis Avenue shortly before the house caught fire.
Doerr was arrested by Ocean City police on Friday, April 15. After being seen by a Maryland District Court Commissioner, he was transferred to the Worcester County Jail on $500,000 bond.
From the previous report:
The Ocean City Fire Marshal’s Office is seeking assistance from the community regarding an early morning fire on Friday, March 11, that damaged a cottage in downtown Ocean City.
At approximately 12:30 a.m., the Ocean City Fire Department was dispatched to 19 St. Louis Avenue, for a reported house fire. Firefighters arrived and quickly extinguished a fire that had engulfed most of the ground floor of the older, two story wood structure. The house was found to be unoccupied at the time of the fire, and no injuries, firefighter or civilian, occurred. Fire crews remained on scene for several hours extinguishing hotspots within the structures walls and floors.
While the cause of the fire remains under investigation, anyone who was walking or driving along St. Louis Avenue between 10 p.m. Thursday, March 10, and 12:30 a.m. on Friday, March 11, may have crucial information that could assist in solving the fire, and are being asked to contact the Ocean City Fire Marshal’s Office at 410-289-8765. Callers may remain anonymous.
