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SALT LAKE CITY — A man who police say lit his Salt Lake hospital room on fire is now facing criminal charges.
Daniel Laner Allen, 50, of Alpharetta, Georgia, was charged Monday in 3rd District Court with aggravated arson, a first-degree felony; and criminal mischief, a second-degree felony.
On May 2, Allen barricaded himself inside a room at LDS Hospital by blocking the door with a hospital bed and medicine cart, "and was trying to light objects on fire," according to charging documents.
Salt Lake police responded and tried negotiating with Allen for about an hour to surrender, the charges state.
"During this time Allen used hand sanitizer and medicine to accelerate the fires that he was lighting with a lighter and materials found inside the room. Allen stated multiple times that he wanted to burn down the entire hospital," according to the charges.
A bed sheet covered with hand sanitizer was one of the objects lit on fire, the charges state.
Emergency crews eventually removed the door from its hinges and "a fire extinguisher was sprayed into the room and Allen was arrested," police said.
Damage to the room was estimated at $35,000.
