Man charged in White Bear Lake townhome fire that critically injured mother

Nick Ferraro, Pioneer Press
·2 min read

A man has been charged in connection with a White Bear Lake townhome fire that left his mother critically injured.

Christian Thomas Dahm, 45, faces one felony count of starting negligent fire that caused great bodily harm. He remained jailed Thursday.

The fire broke out at the fourplex about 11:30 p.m. Sunday in the 2600 block of Aspen Court off Glen Oaks Avenue and County Road D.

According to the criminal complaint, when responders got on scene, a townhome unit was fully engulfed in flames, which were spreading to adjoining units. Dahm’s father pointed at Dahm, who was on the back patio, and said, “He started the fire.”

Firefighters located Dahm’s mother inside her townhome unit. She had a pulse, but was struggling to breathe, and had slight burns. She was transported to Regions Hospital in critical condition.

Dahm told police he was in the garage working on his fishing pole over a car hood before the fire started. He said he was using an oil pan and lit a cigarette with a torch and then “all of a sudden, there was a fire,” the complaint states.

Meanwhile, Dahm’s father said he and his wife decided to check on their son before going to bed because they were concerned because they believed he was high on methamphetamine.

He said when he opened the service door to the garage, it appeared as though “everything exploded.” He saw his son run out of the garage.

A neighbor told police that she saw Dahm and his father pull into their driveway before the fire and that Dahm was “cursing and swearing” and making loud noises in the garage.

The fire spread from one townhome to another, where KARE 11 anchor Rena Sarigianopoulos’ parents live, and she wrote on GoFundMe that their home was destroyed.

Dahm’s mother remained in the burn unit at Regions Hospital on Tuesday, the complaint said. She was on a ventilator.

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