19-year-old student arrested in connection with GCU apartment fire
Oct 30, 2024, 1:03 PM | Updated: 2:05 pm
Jacob Jarvis, a 19-year-old student, is accused of starting a fire at a Grand Canyon University housing complex. (Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and Phoenix Fire Department Photos)
(Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and Phoenix Fire Department Photos)
PHOENIX – A 19-year-old student was arrested in connection with a weekend fire at a Grand Canyon University housing complex in Phoenix, authorities announced Wednesday.
Jacob Jarvis was booked into a Maricopa County jail Tuesday on an arson charge, according to the Phoenix Police Department.
Jarvis is a student who’d been living on the private school’s campus near 35th Avenue and Camelback Road, police said.
He has been barred from campus and placed on interim suspension pending the results of the legal process, the school said in a statement Wednesday.
“The safety of our students is paramount,” the statement said. “We applaud GCU Public Safety officers working in conjunction with Phoenix Police/Fire not only for their immediate response in the aftermath of the fire, but also for quickly taking investigative steps to identify the suspect, which led to his arrest and removal from the campus community.”
How much damage did GCU apartment fire do?
Two small fires were set Sunday morning in the third-floor study lounge of the Agave Apartments, GCU officials previously reported.
The six-story residential building’s sprinkler system automatically deployed and the school’s emergency text system instructed students to avoid the area.
The dorm, which houses nearly 700 students, was already evacuated by the time Phoenix Fire Department crews arrived around 9:30 a.m. and made sure the flames were fully extinguished.
Fire damage was limited to one piece of furniture in the study lounge, but six suites, which each house four students, sustained water and smoke damage, the school said.
The 24 residents impacted have been relocated to other campus housing. They should be able to return to their rooms by the end of the week, the school said.
What did investigators learn?
The Phoenix Fire Arson Investigations Task Force, which includes fire and police department assets, took over the investigation.
“Once the scene investigation was complete, investigators began to work on leads. This led them to a possible suspect identified as 19-year-old Jacob Jarvis,” Sgt. Rob Scherer said in a media advisory.
Jarvis allegedly admitted to starting the fire after he was located, police said.
The investigation is ongoing.
