by ROCCO PARASCANDOLA
A Bedford-Stuyvesant man, enraged that his girlfriend was breaking up with him, set her brownstone on fire, badly injuring the woman, fire officials said yesterday.
The suspect, Charles Norbert, 52, was arrested at a friend's house Monday night and charged with arson.
His ex-girlfriend, Joan James, also 52, suffered second-degree burns on 35 percent of her body. She was listed in serious condition at the burn unit at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan and is expected to survive.
Norbert's arrest did not surprise residents of Lafayette Avenue, who said that the couple was constantly arguing.
Early Monday, at about 12:45 a.m., fire officials said Norbert set a fire inside the brownstone, where he lived with James, and fled.
James escaped on her own but was badly burned. Three firefighters were also injured, including one who was burned, but not seriously hurt.
Fire marshals quickly homed in on Norbert after they said residents on the block told them that Norbert had threatened to burn down the building.
"This suspect showed absolutely no regard for public safety and placed so many lives at risk with a twisted plot for revenge," Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said in a statement.
Norbert was taken to Staten Island University Hospital after his arrest because he suffered burns while setting the fire, fire officials said.
Neighbors said Norbert works in construction. James owns the three-story building and one day before the fire had welcomed new tenants into one of the apartments. Those tenants were not injured in the fire, which gutted the bottom floor.
Maria Alvarez contributed to this story.
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