Upper Darby man faces felony charges after police say he set fire to his apartment

Police said the man also harmed animals, after finding a deceased dog, two birds inside the unit.

After a formal arraignment on April 1, one Upper Darby man had multiple felonies held over for court after police said he attempted to set fire to his own apartment back in January.

Upper Darby Township Police said they responded to the 6800 block of Market Street in the township for the report of a fire sprinkler system that had gone off inside an apartment on Thursday, Jan. 8 at 9:15 p.m. The call was upgraded to a working fire in the building, which contains both additional residential apartments and commercial space.

In an affidavit of probable cause, police said that a neighbor heard a “loud bang or explosion” coming from a specific apartment located on the building’s first floor. The neighbor told police the bang was “forceful enough to make dust come off the wall.” Residents were evacuated and the fire was extinguished, police said.

Deputy Fire Chief Mark Morrisey said that he’d located several points of origin for the fire inside the apartment. While investigating, Morrisey also said he discovered a deceased dog inside. He also located a gas container and disarmed smoke alarms (the batteries were removed) inside.

Further interviews with the witnessing neighbor revealed that he’d also seen a man and woman in the hall of the apartments when he opened the door to see what the loud bang was from before the fire. He said he saw a man hauling a dog crate from the apartment into the hall, stating to the woman, “you see what you made me do, now we are going to get locked up,” police wrote in the affidavit.

The neighbor told police the dog was “rolling around, whining, and had smoke coming off it, as it appeared to have been on fire.” Police also stated that he saw smoke coming from the apartment.

Police said that the male neighbor was identified as Ruben Ferdinand, 38, of the 6800 block of Market Street in Upper Darby. Video surveillance from the apartment building and nearby convenience store showed Ferdinand and the female parking in front of the apartment building five minutes prior to the fire. The video showed Ferdinand carrying a red gas can, police said.

According to the affidavit, police stated that Ferdinand had been the caller into 911, stating gasoline was spilled and “someone started smoking,” which caused a fire. Following a search warrant, Upper Darby police searched the apartment on Jan. 9 alongside fire investigators and a K-9 partner, Watson. The investigation discovered the fire began in the living room of the two-bedroom apartment in several spots. Watson alerted police in multiple locations in the room near a sofa bed, a rug, and couch cushions, police said.

Fire investigator Michael Kopp compiled an Upper Darby Township Fire and Arson Origin and Cause Report in which he said heat and fire damages were noted on sofa cushions, on pillows, clothing, a brown leather purse, the sofa’s base, and a futon mattress. He said there was also a bird cage on the sofa, which contained two deceased birds inside, as well as a dog cage near a table with a deceased dog inside.

Bedrooms, the hallway, and the bathroom were not found to have fire nor heat damage. A four-shelf unit was discovered between the bedroom and hallway, and the report stated, on the third shelf down, three smoke alarms were found with removed batteries. Three corresponding mounts were observed on the ceiling, said the report. The report concluded that there were multiple points of origin all in the living room area, and that there were “no other competent reasons for ignition.”

On Friday, Jan. 16, Ferdinand told police that the fire was “accidental.” When asked how it happened, he said he “wasn’t taking his medication like he was supposed to,” police said. He only could tell authorities that the fire was accidental and that sprinklers put it out. He said he “did not remember” how it started.

Ferdinand was charged with felony counts of arson, aggravated arson, arson with intent to destroy a building, arson with endangerment to a property/reckless endangerment of an inhabited building, possession of explosive or incinerable material, risking catastrophe, aggravated cruelty to animals causing death, and three criminal mischief felonies, as well as related misdemeanors. 

He is held in the Delaware County Prison, unable to post a $500,000 monetary bail. No official court date has yet been set for the trial.