Man arrested in connection with Boston restaurant fire – NBC Boston

A man has been arrested in connection with a restaurant fire in Boston's Mission Hill neighborhood.

Prasiddha Baruwal, 23, of Everett, Massachusetts, is charged with arson of a commercial building, breaking and entering with intent to commit a felony and malicious destruction of property.

Authorities are investigating a fire that broke out Tuesday night at the Squealing Pig on Smith Street, less than an hour after closing time.

Video obtained by NBC10 Boston shows a man inside the restaurant, smashing windows, as flames erupt. This raises questions about whether this was intentionally set.

“I heard glass breaking,” said Jack Sharkey, who reported the fire.

Sharkey was across the street and noticed commotion before any signs of flames or smoke.

“At first I thought it was someone breaking into a car, and then I looked outside and the restaurant across the street had all its windows smashed,” Sharkey said. “And then the lights came on, and someone was trying to start a fire in there, and then there was just fire coming out of the windows.”

Fire officials told NBC10 Boston that a fire crew was dispatched.

“Heavy gunfire was coming out of the front windows,” Boston Fire Department Deputy Chief Michael Hocking said. “Heavy gunfire has come across the street and has already melted a few cars.”

Peter Martinez, a former employee of the Squealing Pig pub who worked there for more than two years, said it was “devastating” to see the fire. He said he last worked at the pub six months ago and was interviewed by investigators on Wednesday morning.

“At first I thought it was someone breaking into a car, and then I looked out and the restaurant across the street had all the windows smashed,” Sharkey said. “And then the lights came on, and someone was trying to start a fire in there, and then there was just fire coming out of the windows.”

It took firefighters about 15 minutes to extinguish the flames. The interior of the store was completely charred.

No injuries were reported.