Mason City man arrested on arson charge after apartment building fire

MASON CITY — A fire early Friday morning has resulted in the arrest of a Mason City man on an arson charge.

The Mason City Fire Department says they responded to an automatic fire alarm at 24 5th Southwest at about 1:30 Friday morning, with firefighters arriving on the scene seeing smoke coming from an apartment.

The Fire Department says the building’s sprinkler system kept the flames under control until the crews were able to fully extinguish the fire, but the interior of one apartment sustained fire, smoke and water damage while other units were not damaged.

One person was taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and building residents were able to return to their apartments.

48-year-old Patrick Martinson was booked into the Cerro Gordo County Jail on Friday on a first-degree arson charge, a Class B felony punishable by up to 25 years in prison. He’s being held on a total of $50,000 bond.

A criminal complaint says he set combustible material inside his room on fire. He’s due in court for his preliminary hearing on September 5th.