Gloucester — A Market Basket employee was arrested today in connection with a fire set at the grocery store last week, according to Gloucester Police Chief Edward Conley, Gloucester Fire Chief Eric Smith, and State Fire Marshal Jon Davine.
Matthew R. Johnson, 35, has been charged with two counts each of burning personal property and attempting to burn a building. He is accused of setting two separate fires inside the Market Basket at 101 Gloucester Crossing Road on the night of March 14. His arrest follows a joint investigation by the Gloucester Police Department, Gloucester Fire Department, and State Police fire investigators assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s office.
Johnson is expected to appear in Gloucester District Court this afternoon.
Firefighters responded to the scene around 8:20 p.m. on March 14 and found a fire inside the building near the rear of the structure. As crews worked to extinguish it, they discovered another fire in a different location. A second alarm was struck, bringing in additional personnel, and both fires were fully extinguished by 9:00 p.m.
No injuries were reported, and after ventilation and cleaning, the store was able to reopen the next day.
The fire departments of Essex, Manchester, and Rockport assisted at the scene, while companies from Beverly, Danvers, and Ipswich provided station coverage.
