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Shaun Szwarz, 40, now faces six counts each of first-degree arson, reckless endangering, and first-degree criminal mischief for the four-alarm fire at an apartment complex in Portland, Oregon, on July 11.

The 40-year-old is accused of setting fire to his unit, which rapidly spread to other parts of the complex, triggering drastic evacuation measures from his neighbors, many of whom had to jump from the apartments on higher floors to escape the intense flames.

One neighbor told KATU that the blaze even forced an elderly woman to jump from her balcony.

“An 82-year-old lady who jumped off that balcony over there to try to make it out…It’s an insane story,” Michael Jones said.

Two people were hospitalized with severe injuries, including third-degree burns, a fractured vertebra, and an ankle injury.

The fire severely damaged six of the building’s 19 apartments, making them uninhabitable, and displaced at least 15 people, according to local reports.

Jones said that Szwarz even returned to the scene of the crime, making bizarre statements.

“The guy had the nerve to come back here and his words: ‘Oh, these are all my Black friends,’” Jones said of the African-American neighbors who were not displaced. “Then police ended up coming to get him.”

Jones simply called it “an idiot moment.”

Szwarz initially claimed that he was asleep when the fire started, but witness accounts tell a different story.

One of his neighbors said he heard Szwarz screaming and yelling racial slurs inside his apartment.

Szwarz told investigators that he was arguing on the phone with his girlfriend, but when authorities contacted the woman, she said she had not spoken to Szwarz in two years.

He then told police he was on the phone with “someone.”

He also admitted to leaving a gas can near his couch, but he claimed it was not leaking.

However, according to court documents cited by KGW, fire investigators found evidence of gasoline throughout Szwarz’s apartment, including burn patterns consistent with an ignitable liquid being poured from the front door to the back bedroom.

In court, he pleaded not guilty to all charges. His attorney questioned the severity of some of the charges his client faces.

“I understand that the court has already found this to be a violent felony,” the defense attorney said. “I understand this fire was very dangerous to other people. But in terms of, I think, the nexus and that Mr. Szwarz obviously is charged with starting this fire, but in terms of the nexus of having some type of intent for a threat to serious physical injury, I didn’t see evidence of a serious physical injury from the brief discovery I received in the affidavit.”

Szwarz is still in jail without bond. The investigation into the fire is ongoing.

The Red Cross is helping shelter all the displaced residents temporarily. GoFundMe pages have also been launched to help cover their displacement expenses.