Man charged in Keswick fire

The man facing charges in a fire that consumed a house owned by Keswick Hall, Club and Estate had recently lost his job there, authorities said
Goran Andelic, of Croatia, had worked for the club for more than a year, said Matthias Smith, the club’s resident general manager. The club routinely provides housing for foreign workers.

The club-owned house in which he lived at 850 Black Cat Road went up in flames Friday evening. Andelic now faces a felony arson charge, according to court records. Andelic is currently jailed without bond. Smith declined to discuss why Andelic’s employment had ended with the club.
Club officials aren’t ready to release damage figures yet, Smith said, but Investigator Howard Lagomarsino of the Albemarle County fire marshal’s office said they’re estimated at half a million dollars.
Friday’s fire reduced the majority of the wood-framed, vinyl-sided house to embers, and club officials don’t expect to salvage any part of the structure.
Another factor authorities considered in deciding the fire was arson was how far and how quickly the fire had spread, Lagomarsino said.
The fire had engulfed at least half the house by the time fire officials arrived at Black Cat Road Friday night. Lagomarsino declined to say how long officials thought the fire had been burning before it was reported.
“Processing the scene, we eliminated all accidental causes, and we also used an accelerant-detection canine from the Spotsylvania County Fire Marshal’s Office,” Lagomarsino said.

Andelic wasn’t at the home when fire officials arrived.
Officials verified that Andelic hadn’t died in the blaze by bringing in cadaver dogs Saturday morning, Lagomarsino said. Such searches are routine after fires in apparently unoccupied structures.
Fire officials asked law enforcement authorities to be on the lookout for Andelic, and he was arrested Saturday, after a county police officer spotted him off of North Berkshire Drive, near one of his former residences, Lagomarsino said.
Lagomarsino said officials will review the case with the commonwealth’s attorney, and more charges remain possible. He declined to say if the possible charges were directly related to the fire.

Smith said the club hasn’t yet decided what, if any, changes it will make as a result.
“I think we have to evaluate the news and the events and look at them all in the short- and long-term,” he said.
Virginia State Police also provided manpower for the investigation, and firefighters from the East Rivanna Volunteer Fire Company, Monticello Fire and Rescue, Stony Point Volunteer Fire Company and the Charlottesville Fire Department helped extinguish the fire.