Meth lab started fire on Monday; man arrested

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) Fort Wayne Police arrested a man in connection with a meth lab that is believed to have been the cause of a fire at a Bowser Ave. garage on Monday.

Shortly before 11 p.m on Monday Sept. 25,  firefighters arrived to a home in the 4200 block of Bowser Avenue near McKinnie Avenue and found a detached garage fully engulfed in flames.

The fire did not spread to the house or any surrounding structures. Firefighters had the fire under control in about ten minutes.

After firefighters extinguished the flames, they found evidence that a meth lab may have started the fire.

The Fort Wayne Police Department’s Meth Suppression Team came in to assist and found chemicals and "molten plastic vessels" associated with meth production.

A follow up investigation by the FWPD led to the arrest of one of the residents of the home, Stephen Ray Knott, 27. Investigators learned that Knott had bought the supplies for the meth lab that caused the fire.

Knott is facing a felony charge of possession of two or more chemical precursors with the intent to manufacture. He is being held on a bond of $2,500.