Homeless Man Accused Of Trying To Torch Concord Store On Storrs Street
CONCORD, NH — A homeless man, who has been accused of arson in the past, is facing new charges after reportedly dousing a store with lighter fluid and attempting to set it on fire on Storrs Street on Monday afternoon.
Around 1:45 p.m., fire and rescue teams and police were sent to Marshalls at 80 Storrs St. after receiving “multiple calls” about a possible arson incident. Witnesses reported a man, later identified as Christopher Blodgett, 50, a homeless man now located in Concord, spraying lighter fluid on the side of the building and hollering at people.
One officer asked dispatch if Blodgett had been released from the hospital: He agreed to be checked in after an incident on Interstate 393 on Sunday and his complaining about being assaulted at the Friendly Kitchen as well as a dumpster fire at the soup kitchen, as reported on Patch Monday.
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A dispatcher said they were on the phone with Blodgett after he called 911, but they could not understand everything he said. They did say he said he was trying to light the building on fire, according to scanner chatter.
“So just approach with caution,” they said.
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The reporting officer saw a bottle of Ronsonol lighter fluid on the ground near the store’s front door and two officers speaking with Blodgett. When asked if he had a lighter, he was accused of saying he threw it over a building in the area before police arrived.
Blodgett was then placed in handcuffs and read his Miranda rights, but he said he did not want to speak about the incident, according to an affidavit.
Officers searched the area but were unable to find a lighter.
News 603 posted a video from the scene on Facebook.
During interviews, a witness, a man in his mid-40s, told police he saw a man spraying the fluid all over the windows of the building and “acting aggressively.”
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The first arriving officer spoke to staffers at Marshals who said Blodgett walked into the store and said something along the lines of, “Call the police. I’m going to hurt someone,” according to an affidavit.
When questioned before the reporting officer arrived, Blodgett told the two officers he attempted to light the building on fire to hopefully receive the mental health treatment he was requesting, the report stated. He was also accused of saying he sprayed the building because “there are lots of people here” and then said he threw a butane torch over the fence.
“See what I have to do to get help?,” he told another officer, according to an affidavit.
Blodgett was accused of stating the voices in his head were telling him to burn things, and while he did not want to hurt anyone, he did not know how long he could control his ideations. He was released from Riverbend and recently had an IEA where he was released as well, the report stated.
Blodgett was charged with attempted arson and reckless conduct with a deadly weapon, both felonies, as well as disorderly conduct. He was held without bail.
According to court records, Blodgett has been arrested or criminally charged 66 times since 2009. He has a couple of driving violations, as well as three domestic violence petitions from 2009 and 2015 and three civil stalking petitions in 2019 and 2020.
Superior court convictions have included theft, receiving stolen property, acts prohibited, and willful concealment in the Lakes Region between 2017 and 2019. Between 2020 and 2024, Blodgett was convicted of theft in Boscawen and theft, criminal mischief, receiving stolen property, theft by deception, and criminal threatening charges in Concord in superior court.
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