During the bizarre act, Joseph Otto Gimbl is seen on video wearing a blue shirt that said the words ‘firefighter’ and "fire rescue" on it, but the Collier County Sheriff’s Office said he is indeed “a fire starter.”
A Florida man has been arrested after detectives saw video footage of him setting fire to a Florida apartment building, the same complex where the man lives, officials said.
On the security video, Joseph Otto Gimbl, 40, is seen wearing a blue shirt with the words "Fire Rescue," lighting papers on fire and throwing them into trash cans and through trash chutes at the Addison Place Apartments, located on Addison Place Circle, according to the Collier County Sherrif's Office.
Deputies said when they located Gimbl on Pine Ridge Road, he was still wearing the blue firefighter shirt from the video, the release said.
At first, Gimbl denied setting the fire, but then detectives showed him the video. He was arrested and charged with first-degree arson, felony criminal mischief, and resisting arrest, police said
He is being held at the Collier County Jail. His bond is set at $35,000, and his arraignment is scheduled for Nov. 8 at 8:15 a.m. A county clerk with Collier County told Inside Edition Digital that Gimbl "was found non-indigent and is not qualified for a public defender," she said.
The bizarre incident took place on Saturday around 5 p.m. when deputies and firefighters responded to a report of a fire in the trash room at the apartment complex. Smoke and flames were visible, officials said.
Residents were evacuated from the building and the fire was extinguished, and no injuries were reported, police said. The State Fire Marshal’s investigators determined that the fire set was intentional, according to the press release.
Witnesses told deputies they saw Gimbl in the area about eight minutes before the fire alarms went off, a report said.
Neighbors at the Addison Place Apartment told WINK News that Gimbl has been a menace to the residents at the complex. They told the news outlet that he had been ripping windshield wipers off some of the parked cars on the property, and was served with an eviction notice from the apartment complex after someone reported it.
Some of the residents were relieved upon hearing of Gimbl’s arrest, NBC2 News reported.
"I guess there are crazy people everywhere and they just happen to live in the neighborhood here,” responded one resident.
Some of Addison Place residents are now demanding better security and safety measures for its residents.
Detectives are continuing to investigate other similar crimes in that area that may be linked to Gimbl, a report said.
