LULING, La. — A mother was arrested and faces an aggravated arson charge after allegedly setting her apartment on fire and trying to keep her children inside, officials say.
Cassandra Jones, 39, is accused of starting a fire in her Luling apartment complex and attempting to prevent her four children from being rescued by their property manager, a local firefighter who was off-duty at the time, in late July, Louisiana State Fire Marshal officials announced Monday.
According to Fire Marshal's deputies, the fire broke out early in the morning on July 23 in the Parc Lakewood Apartment complex, located in the 100 block of Lakewood Drive.
The apartment manager, a firefighter in St. Charles Parish, told deputies he heard children screaming for help from the balcony of Jones' room and saw smoke coming from the windows behind them.
He then rushed up to the room and was able to help the four children, ranging from ages 6-14, outside and kept them from being hurt, officials said.
Jones was also found inside the apartment, where deputies allege she attempted to stop the children from being rescued.
First responders arrived at the complex and put the fire out before any structural damage could take place, officials said. However, the fire did spread to other units and caused extensive smoke and soot damage. Two tenants in a nearby unit were also alerted about the fire and escaped without being injured.
Once rescued, Jones was detained by St. Charles Parish Sheriff's deputies and taken to the hospital for evaluation.
State Fire Marshal investigators were called on the scene, where they found the fire had started from "multiple areas of origin inside the unit." Charred items were also found near those areas and the blaze was deemed intentional.
Witnesses identified Jones as the person who started the fire. The Luling Fire Department also noted they had been called to her apartment for a minor fire two days earlier.
On August 1, when she was released from the hospital, Jones was arrested and booked into parish jail on one count of aggravated arson. Her bond set at $300,000, court records show.
