STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A 32-year-old man was arrested following an alleged arson fire Sunday at an apartment building in Graniteville where a firefighter was injured, according to authorities.
The FDNY fought the fire amid dangerously cold temperatures Sunday morning at 1300 Richmond Ave.
Matthew Brower, who lives at the building, was charged with arson in the second degree in connection with the fire, according to a statement from the NYPD’s Deputy Commissioner of Public Information.
An attorney for the defendant is not yet listed in public records.
The fire was reported at about 6:40 a.m. on the first floor of the two-story apartment building, a spokesperson for the FDNY previously told the Advance/SILive.com.
About 80 fire and EMS personnel responded, bringing the blaze under control by 7:15 a.m., around half an hour after the call, according to the FDNY spokesperson.
Four people were evaluated by EMS on the scene but refused transportation to a hospital.
One firefighter was taken to Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton with minor injuries, according to the FDNY.
An Advance/SILive.com reporter on the scene Sunday noted extensive damage to a front, lower-level apartment. Windows were broken, and fire and smoke caused extensive damage inside the apartment.
On Sunday, a neighbor expressed concern for the apartment’s resident. Words were scrawled inside the apartment on the bedroom wall, a mirror and a door. At least part of the writing said “Hillary Clinton” on one wall and “CDC” in another section.
On Monday, windows in the apartment with the most fire damage were boarded up. Firefighters from Ladder 86 were walking around the property. Some debris had been dragged to the curb.
While ice was cleared from the front steps of the apartment unit, heavy sheets of ice remained on Monday around the fire hydrant near the street.
‘They were crying’
Building residents on Monday described a chaotic scene as people rushed to evacuate.
“I didn’t even know there was a fire when I woke up,” said Renee Grosso, who lives in a neighboring apartment to where the fire started. “My [smoke] alarm kept going off. People seemed confused and they were crying.”
“Most people were woken up I guess by smoke,” said another neighbor who declined to have her name published.
During the response, firefighters busted down a couple of doors. She was called by a friend in the building, “so I came out and there were like 40 firefighters here. The whole block was cut off, there was cops here.”
One firefighter was injured as the FDNY responded to a fire in a two-story apartment building at 1300 Richmond Ave. in Graniteville on Sunday morning, Feb. 8, 2026.(Advance/SILive.com | Mike Matteo)
A damaged apartment after firefighters responded to a fire at 1300 Richmond Ave. in Graniteville on Sunday morning, Feb. 8, 2026.(Advance/SILive.com | Mike Matteo)
Debris from an early morning apartment fire at 1300 Richmond Ave. in Graniteville on Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026.(Advance/SILive.com | Mike Matteo)