A Weld County sheriff’s deputy wound up arresting a distant relative after responding to an apartment fire in Keenesburg on Monday.
But first, Deputy Kris Haffner had to rescue another man trapped at about 5 p.m. on the second floor of the burning building at 77 Main St.
Sheriff’s Department spokesman Shane Scofield said Haffner threw his service baton up to the man, who then smashed out a window. Haffner was able to find a ladder at a nearby business and got the man down, Scofield said.
Afterward, Haffner found that one of his distant cousins, 41-year-old Jerry Haffner of Keenesburg, called in the fire and was suspected of being the person who set it, Scofield said.
Jerry Haffner is facing first-degree arson charges. He is being held in the Weld County Jail on $100,000 bail.
