A 27-year-old Laconia woman was arrested and charged with arson on Saturday following a two-alarm fire at a Union Avenue apartment that represented the second fire at the complex in three days.

Jasmin Braley of 322 Union Avenue Apt. #5 is being charged in connection with a fire that caused heavy damage to the rear portion of a six-unit apartment at 322 Union Avenue across from AutoZone.

Keith Rodenhiser, an investigator from the State Fire Marshal's Office, said the fire is "incendiary" in nature and was set in Braley's downstairs apartment, though he declined to comment on the details of the alleged crime.

The fire resulted in non-life threatening injuries to an occupant of the apartment and a responding firefighter, but officials say the eight people that were in the building at the time of the incident are fortunate to have escaped the early morning blaze.

Jasmin Braley (Laconia Police Photo) Jasmin Braley was arrested for arson on Saturday following a two-alarm fire at 322 Union Avenue in Laconia. Click here to view Foster's prints for sale

Laconia Fire Chief Ken Erickson said firefighters were summoned to the residence at approximately 4:30 a.m. with the fire coming only three days after a Thursday blaze that broke out in the same portion of the building during the middle of the day.

Shawn Barnes lives in the apartment upstairs from Braley and said he was awake when he heard fire crackling in the walls.

He ran outside and immediately called 9-1-1.

Barnes said he would normally be awake at that hour, but the fire three days earlier made sleeping difficult.

"None of us (tenants) have slept that great the last couple of days," said Barnes.

Barnes's apartment was among the more heavily damaged and on Saturday afternoon he joined his girlfriend and a friend in picking through the charred remains of his apartment.

Erickson said the Saturday morning fire saw downtown units arriving to find occupants of the residence evacuating the apartment with heavy smoke pouring out of the second floor.

The apartment that burned consists of a large 2 1/2 story house that was virtually unharmed and a two-story rear carriage house whose two apartments sustained most of the damage.

Erickson said the officer of the first responding unit quickly brought the fire to a second alarm to bring in necessary manpower and firefighters used ladder trucks to help prevent the fire from spreading to other parts of the building.

He said it was fortunate that Bike Week had 18 city firefighters on duty when the early morning blaze broke out, which allowed them a fast response. The fire was brought under control in about a half an hour.

'It was a textbook operation. We had enough people on duty to get the job done (and) under normal conditions this would have been a much worse fire," said Erickson.

Erickson said one resident received a laceration on the foot and a firefighter sustained a knee injury. He said both were taken to Lakes Region General Hospital where they were treated and released.

The chief said the fire could have been even more serious considering it came at a time in the morning when most people are asleep. He noted that the apartment on the second story had a smoke detector that was disconnected.

Erickson said one resident was alerted to the fire when he woke up to hear the fire "crackling in the walls."

"You associate a building fire that early in the morning with fatalities," said Erickson.

Dana Whiston lives in the apartment directly next to 322 Union Avenue and said he awoke to the smell of smoke being brought into his residence from a fan.

He said he was surprised to look out the window and see the same apartment on fire for the second time in one week.

"It was definitely a bigger fire than the one a couple of days ago," said Whiston.

Whiston said Braley could be seen walking around in the driveway of the apartment building as police and fire officials attended to the scene and Laconia Police Sgt. Sharon Cavanaugh confirmed that the subject was found in the general area when emergency responders arrived.

The neighbor said he didn't know Braley, but knew she had been distraught recently. He said Braley has been known to be out in the driveway late at night "yelling."

Laconia Police Chief Mike Moyer said he doesn't know Braley, but did confirm that she recently experienced the death of her infant child though he didn't know if the fire had any connection to that.

The fire required police to shut down Union Avenue between Route 11A and Messer Street.

Officials estimate that the apartment sustained upward of $100,000 in damage and portions cannot be occupied.

The fire was quickly deemed suspicious, though Erickson declined to comment more specifically on what led them to that conclusion.

He did say the Thursday and Saturday fires appear to be related.

"They are definitely linked," said Erickson.

The fire is currently being investigated by the Laconia Police and fire departments and the State Fire Marshal's Office, which had investigators on the scene throughout the day on Saturday.

(Citizen Photo/Geoff Cunningham Jr.) Fire investigators say arson is to blame for a two-alarm fire at an apartment building at 322 Union Avenue on Saturday morning. Click here to view Foster's prints for sale