Syracuse University sophomore Alec Hembree was charged with arson in the fourth degree around 9:30 p.m. Monday after causing an acetone fire in room 414 of Slocum Hall.

Hembree, an architecture major, soaked a paper towel with acetone, which was being used in the architecture studio to transfer photographs to paper, said Lt. Ken Heffernan, a Syracuse fire investigator. Some of the acetone on the paper towel dripped onto the floor, he said.

When Hembree was lighting the acetone fumes with a lighter, the chemical on the floor also ignited. The can of acetone being used in the lab tipped over and also caught fire.

Another student in the lab put out the flame with a fire extinguisher.

‘The suspect was more or less testing the flammability of the acetone,’ Heffernan said. He did not go into details about Hembree’s motives for lighting the acetone.

Hembree was released later that night with an appearance ticket, Heffernan said. Hembree’s court date is Oct. 15.

‘He will have to go through a criminal procedure and then any judicial procedures that the university has,’ Heffernan said.

smtracey@syr.edu

Published on October 5, 2009 at 12:00 pm