Man arrested for allegedly setting fire to Annandale house

Arson was behind an April 27 house fire in Annandale that cost two people and a dog their home, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department says.

Clinton James Hall, 27, was arrested yesterday (Wednesday) and charged with one count of burning or destroying a building after investigators determined that the fire in the 4900 block of Bristow Drive was “incendiary in nature.”

According to the FCFRD report, Hall started the fire on the porch of a three-story, single-family home in the Annandale Terrace neighborhood late that evening. Both residents and the dog were inside at the time.

“The dog alerted the occupants and all self-evacuated from the residence prior to fire department arrival,” the department said. “There were working smoke alarms that activated after the fire was discovered.”

Fire investigators have determined that the April 27 house fire on Bristow Dr in Annandale was incendiary in nature. The fire started on the porch. Damages as a result of the fire were approximately $461,480. https://t.co/jnJoRDo7im

— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) May 3, 2023

Firefighter units were dispatched to the scene at 11:57 p.m. and arrived to find a blaze that was visible from three sides of the building. Crews “worked quickly” to extinguish the fire, and no injuries were reported.

However, the occupants and their pet were displaced, and the fire caused an estimated $461,480 in property damages.

Virginia classifies arson as a Class 3 felony if someone is inside the building when it’s burned. If convicted, Hall would face beween five and 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000.

The news of Hall’s arrest came the same day that a house fire farther north in Annandale took the lives of two dogs and a cat.