Ottawa woman arrested on arson charge following Thanksgiving fire

A 21-year-old woman was arrested Friday on an arson charge after a Thanksgiving evening fire in Ottawa.

Ottawa firefighters were called at 7:58 p.m. Thursday for a bedroom fire in the 1500 block of Pine Street. The house had been vacated, and no one was inside as firefighters arrived. After receiving statements from the residence’s occupants, along with preliminary observations by firefighters and police officers, it was determined that the origin of the fire appeared intentional, Ottawa Police Detective Cpl. Matthew Najdanovich said in a news release.

After an investigation, which included the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal, Tekeisha U. White, who had been temporarily living at the residence, was arrested and charged with arson, a Class 2 felony carrying a potential three- to seven-year prison sentence. White was taken to the La Salle County Jail, where she will be held pending a detention hearing.

There were no injuries reported as a result of the fire.

Firefighters arrived at 8:03 p.m. and found the single-story residence with smoke coming out of the front door and smoke and flames out of a window on the north side of the building, Fire Chief Brian Bressner said in a news release. Within 10 minutes, the fire was under control, but firefighters continued with salvage, overhaul and investigative operations, Bressner said.

The Ottawa Fire Department received support from several agencies, including the Ottawa Police Department, Ottawa Central Dispatch, the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal, the Wallace Fire Department, Marseilles emergency medical services, the Ottawa Water Department, Nicor Gas and Ameren.