City man charged with setting apartment fire

7/9/2003

A Toledo man was charged this week for a fire in the low-income apartment complex where he lives.

James M. Sims, 45, was charged Monday with one count of aggravated arson for the fire Saturday at Ashland Manor Apartments, 2030 Ashland Ave. Damage to the eight-story, 188-unit complex was estimated at about $2,000.

Authorities received a call about 1:35 a.m. about a man who had set his apartment on fire. Firefighters broke into Sims' sixth-floor apartment and restrained him as he tried to flee, Toledo police said.

Firefighters rescued Sims, who was treated in Toledo Hospital for exposure to fire and smoke inhalation. He was not in custody last night. Sims ignited cloth material in his apartment with a lighter, starting the fire, according to court records.