TOWN OF POUGHKEEPSIE – A 38-year-old convicted felon has been charged in connection with three suspicious fires at a vacant warehouse complex on Fairview Avenue in the Town of Poughkeepsie. The first fire was on August 31, the second was on September 9, and the third was on September 21, 2023. The account of Thursday’s fire can be found here.
Patrick Curran has been charged with three felony counts of arson; one count for each of the three separate fires.
According to police, while multiple fire departments were battling the warehouse fire, detectives observed Curran, who had been identified as a person of interest after the first fire, standing on the sidewalk across the street, watching the fire. He was wearing a sweatshirt associated with a Dutchess County volunteer fire department at the time, despite not having any affiliation with the department. He was placed into handcuffs and transported to police headquarters. The police originally told Mid-Hudson News that Curran had been taken in for an interview.
A source close to the investigation told Mid-Hudson News that Curran had been identified as a suspect by a town detective after the first fire and he was being arrested shortly after Thursday’s fire was extinguished.
On Thursday evening, the police announced the arrest of Curran, who has served two separate prison sentences for unrelated offenses. He was arraigned in the Town of Poughkeepsie Justice Court and remanded to the Dutchess County Jail without bail. He was entered into the jail’s computer system shortly before 7 p.m. Thursday evening.
Video of Thursday’s fire:
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