A 20-year-old man has been charged with arson after allegedly setting a Highland Park house ablaze.
HIGHLAND PARK -- A 20-year-old Borough man has been charged with arson in a devastating fire earlier this week that destroyed a rooming house and forced two residents to jumped from a second-story to escape the blaze.
Michael Henderson, who had been renting a room at the house on South Adelaide Avenue, was charged with second-degree aggravated arson, according to a statement from the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office. He was held in jail on $250,000 bail.
Henderson was arrested and charged following an investigation by Highland Park Det. Sean McGraw and Det. Nicholas Chiorello, of the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office.
Officials in a previous report described the blaze as severe, causing the house to be a total loss.
Highland Park Fire Chief Jay Littman, who responded to the fire, previously said that while the house was burning, he heard the sounds of breaking window glass, and then saw a girl that had "literally jumped out the window," he said in a previous report.
The Middlesex County Fire Marshal's Office and the New Jersey Division of Fire Safety's Canine Unit assisted in the investigation.
The investigation remains ongoing, the statement said. Anyone with information can contact McGraw at 732-572-3800 or Chiorello at 732-745-3848.
Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.