SALINA- Dustin  James Gordon, 24, was booked into the Saline County Jail Saturday on two counts of arson and one count of aggravated arson.

Law enforcement made the arrest in connection with Friday night’s Flamingo motel fire.

According to a release by Fire Marshal Roger Williams, investigators from the Salina fire and police departments determined the cause of the fire and an individual was taken into custody.

At approximately 8:30 p.m. on Friday, the Salina Fire Department was dispatched to 500 E. Pacific Avenue in response to a commercial structure on fire.  Upon arrival, crews found heavy fire and smoke coming from the west side of the structure.

The intense amount of fire present caused the department to go to multiple alarms. This four-alarm fire required call back off duty fire personnel and mutual aide response from Rural Fire District 5 and 2. The structure did have active utilities to various sectioons of the complex, Kansas Gas and Westar Energy were requested to respond to the scene to isolate and secure them. Assistance from the American Red Cross was also received.

Fire crews were diligent in trying to contain and extinguish the fire however, the rapid growth and spread of the fire forced crews to change operations to a defensive tactic. The fire was contained, exposures were protected, and the fire was allowed to burn itself down.

The resident that lived on property, was able to safely evacuate herself from the apartment without injury. The resident did have several pets including a dog and three cats, the dog and one cat were retrieved it is not know if the other two cats made it out.

Crews remained on scene throughout the night and into the morning; with the vast amount of structural collapse, crews were there to extinguish any hot spots and/or flare-ups. The structure was significantly damaged and dollar loss estimates have not yet been determined.