MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. — A 69-year-old man faced a first-degree arson charge on Monday in Miami-Dade County, records show.

A Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office deputy arrested Ciro Olotergi on Saturday after firefighters responded to his townhome in The Crossings neighborhood.

“He not only endangered his own life, especially due to the conditions he is living in, but he also endangered the lives of all his neighbors whose homes are directly connected to his own,” a deputy wrote, according to the arrest report.

Olotergi told the deputy that he likes to gather leaves and branches from his yard to set them on fire because “he likes the way it makes his home smell,” according to the arrest report.

When the fire got out of control, Olotergi said he attempted to extinguish it with a pot and water, and when he opened a sliding door, a neighbor who saw the flames used a water hose until firefighters arrived.

“There was a large pile of fire-damaged debris and a blue cigarette lighter found on the countertop where the fire originated,” a deputy wrote about firefighters’ findings, adding there were also “tall piles of clothing stacked several feet from the floor through the house ... there were roaches and rodents.”

Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Milton Hirsch was set to preside over the case.

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