Man charged with attempted arson in Meritus fire

A 20-year-old man was charged with attempted first-degree arson and other charges after a fire was set Friday in a bathroom at Meritus Medical Center, according to the Maryland State Fire Marshal’s office.

Devin Witman, of no fixed address, also was charged with second-degree malicious burning and malicious destruction of property, according to a news release from the fire marshal’s office.

The fire, which was reported at 4:40 p.m., was set by “an open flame to ordinary combustibles,” the release said.

The fire, which caused $500 in damages, was extinguished by an automatic sprinkler system before the Funkstown Fire Department arrived, the release said.

The release did not mention a motive for the fire.