PINELLAS COUNTY (WFLA) – A St. Petersburg man was arrested Tuesday morning for setting fire inside his apartment to stay warm.

Mark Okrent, 66, was charged with arson in the first degree after he allegedly set fire to a stack of paperwork in his apartment building around 3 a.m.

According to the St. Petersburg Police Department, the flames were large enough to set off the smoke detectors, causing a response from the fire department.

Okrent lives in a 30 unit building at 450 5th Ave. N., and residents were home during the incident. No one was injured.

Okrent had several options available to him through neighbors and owners of the building to stay warm, according to the police department.

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