A Fairburn man was arrested June 25 on first-degree arson and aggravated assault charges after striking his girlfriend and setting fire to their apartment.

Rodney L. Turner, 49, was charged in the early morning incident, according to Fairburn Police Lt. Bob Justus. On patrol in the area at the time of the early morning report of a fire at Campbell Crossing Apartments, Justus arrived to find flames coming from Apt. C-19 and smoke billowing from the front door. A man, later identified as Turner, flagged Justus down as he arrived, indicating that he lived in one of the first floor apartments.

Justus began evacuating the apartments as firefighters arrived. A subsequent interview with a woman also living in C-19 revealed that she was Turner’s girlfriend, Justus said. In response to questions about the large lump on her forehead, the woman said she and Turner had been arguing and that Turner had struck her in the head with a bottle. Turner then turned off the apartment’s electricity at the breaker and returned to the bedroom, where he set fire to the mattress, reports said. Justus said the woman fled the apartment through a window. Turner was arrested at the scene.

In all, eight apartments were evacuated as a result of the fire. There were no injuries reported.

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