Police arrest man accused of using gasoline to start fire at Joliet home while children were inside

A man was arrested after he was accused of igniting a fire at a Joliet residence, police said.

Shortly after 2:40 a.m. on Saturday, Kevin Williams, 45, was booked into the Will County jail on a charge of aggravated arson in connection with the incident.

At 10:18 p.m. Friday, officers and a crew with the Joliet Fire Department responded to a residence in the 1500 block of North Prairie Avenue for a report of a house fire, according to a statement from Joliet police Sgt. Dwayne English.

A preliminary investigation of the incident indicated that Williams was in the home and became upset with a 47-year-old woman, English said.

“Williams retrieved gasoline from the garage and then entered the residence at which time it is believed that he intentionally ignited a fire in an empty bedroom of the residence,” English said.

Inside of the residence was the 47-year-old woman along with a 26-year-old woman, a 6-year-old boy, a 4-year-old boy and a 4-month-old girl, English said.

All of them were safely evacuated from the residence with no injury, he said.

Williams was located by officers inside of the garage of the residence and he was taken into custody without incident.

The fire was extinguished by the crew with the Joliet Fire Department.

Williams remains in jail on a $500,000 bond, according to the county jail log. Williams will need to post 10% of that amount for his release from the jail.