A suspect arrested last week for sparking a fire that threatened to burn down a home near Market and 17th Streets may be the very same Castro arsonist who started a string of fires in the neighborhood over a year ago. The suspect, 61-year-old Douglas Kinder was busted when cops spotted the firebug squirting liquid on some bushes near a home on 17th Street and lighting them ablaze, sparking memories of last year's unsolved string of arson cases.

Neither people nor property were harmed in last week's fire, but back in February of 2011 three fires broke out in one morning at buildings along Market Street between 17th and 15th Streets in the same neighborhood. A fourth fire broke out the next day nearby at 18th and Collingwood. At the time, arson seemed like a pretty good bet, given that at least two of the structure fires had begun outside the buildings and in one case some kind of lighter fluid was dumped right on the building's front door. No arrests were made in those four cases, however. One property owner told the Examiner at the time that cops had arrested a "deranged" homeless man who had been threatening to burn down the historically gay-friendly neighborhood.

Mr. Kinder has a history of torching things, it seems. He was convicted of arson over ten years ago. On Friday, he pled not guilty to multiple charges related to last week's bushfire on 17th Street.

Previously: SFFD Suspects Foul Play in Multiple Early Morning Castro Fires
Serial Arsonist on Loose in Castro as Fourth Blaze Breaks Out in Two Days
[SFEx]