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On Sunday, Nov. 27, police in Putnam County responded to a brush fire in Southeast on Old Milltown Road and were told by firefighters that they had responded to an unusually high number of fires in the same area over the past year, according to Putnam County Sheriff Kevin McConville.
Police then began investigating to find out if the fires were set on purpose, and with the help of an arson detection K9 from the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office, authorities realized that an accelerant had been used to start some of the fires.
After consulting with Putnam County 911 dispatchers to gather a list of the brush fires that had happened on the road, a suspect was developed in the investigation.
Then, on Tuesday, Dec. 6, police located the suspect on Old Milltown Road after conducting surveillance of the area.
During an interview, the suspect, identified as 71-year-old Frederick Delfay of Danbury, confessed to starting the fires, according to McConville.
Delfay was then arrested and charged with five counts of fifth-degree arson, police said.
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