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OTTUMWA, IOWA -- A eastern Iowa man has been arrested in the case involving a suspicious fire that happened New Year’s Day in Ottumwa.

Derrick Shoop, 40, of Maquoketa, Iowa, is accused of setting a house on fire around 5 a.m. in the 300 block of North Madison.

The fire department, along with police officers, asked neighbors for leads, and that led them to the arrest of Shoop.

KTVO spoke with Deputy Chief Cory Benge of the Ottumwa Fire Department.

Benge explained how the department investigates fires to determine if they are arson or not.

“We follow the fire back. We go from the area least burned, to the area most burned. So we follow the fire to where it started, and we follow that by the charring, or the deepest burns, and that is how we determine where the fire started,” stated Benge.

According to Deputy Chief Benge, the community is no stranger to arson fires. Benge says that they are common, and that they do investigate as many as they can.

“Whether it is just a small thing, like lighting a trash can on fire, or lighting a house on fire, it is still arson. And, anytime you intentionally set a fire for mischievous matters, it is arson, so we see a bit of that in town,” stated Benge.

Shoop is being held in the Wapello County Jail on $10,000 bond. In Iowa, arson in the 2^nd degree is a class “C” felony, and is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The person who offered the tip leading to Shoop’s arrest could receive a reward from the state fire marshal’s office.