Forbes Library Fire July 2014

Forbes Library Director Janet Moulding stands next to a section of the building's main staircase damaged in an arson fire Monday night. An Easthampton man has been charged with setting the fire.

(Greg Saulmon / The Republican)

UPDATE, 1:55 p.m.: Homeless man arraigned for setting fire in Forbes Library

This story was updated at 1:45 p.m. to update the scope of the damage following an interview with the Forbes Library director.

This story was updated at 11:35 a.m. to include additional information provided by the Northampton Police Department.

NORTHAMPTON — A 59-year-old Easthampton man arrested last week for allegedly attacking customers at the Hadley Whole Foods with cayenne pepper is now a suspect in an arson fire that damaged the main staircase at Forbes Library Monday evening, police said.

Capt. Jody Kasper said police have arrested Eric Bertrand and charged him with setting the fire. The fire caused an estimated $100,000 in damage, Library Director Janet Moulding said Wednesday afternoon.

Moulding said the second floor likely will be closed about a month. The first floor and mezzanine will remain open. She said the damage estimate is based on repairs to the staircase plus the need to clean every item that was affected by fire, smoke or fire suppressant.

Bertrand is scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in District Court.

The fire was reported at 8:44 p.m. Monday and was knocked down by library staff using a fire extinguisher, Kasper wrote in a follow-up press release issued Wednesday.

"Fire investigators located matches and an accelerant on scene," Kasper wrote. "Through an extensive investigation that occurred throughout the day, investigators were able to identify the suspect."

Investigators located Bertrand in Hadley around 4 p.m. Tuesday. At the time, he was also wanted on a warrant from Eastern Hampshire District Court, where he failed to appear Monday to answer charges stemming from the Whole Foods incident.

"He was booked and questioned regarding the incident at Forbes Library," Kasper wrote. Investigators later executed a search warrant at a room he rented at the Hadley Econo Lodge at 329 Russell St.

According to a report in the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Bertrand was displaced in a July 6 fire on Pleasant St. in Easthampton. He has not been charged in connection with that fire. Bertrand and a woman had recently been evicted from the building, the Gazette reported.

The staircase Bertrand is charged with burning is located just inside the library's main entrance, and leads to the Hosmer Gallery, the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Museum, and several of the library's collections, including music and videos.

"The second floor of the Library will be closed until further notice," a message posted to the library's website reads. The fire damaged the staircase's carpeting and wooden banister.

Bertrand faces one count of burning a public building in connection with the Forbes Library fire. In connection with the Whole Foods attack, he faces six counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (cayenne pepper), one count of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (shod foot), one count of assault and battery, one count of disorderly conduct, and one count of defacing property.

This is a developing story. Updates will be posted as our reporting continues.