Man rescued from burning home now suspected of arson, attempted murder

HUDSON, N.H. — A man rescued from a burning home in Hudson, New Hampshire early Monday morning is now considered an arson suspect, according to police.

Three officers from the Hudson Police Department spoke Tuesday about their effort to rescue the man from his apartment, where fire investigators now say he intentionally set the fire.

Police Chief Bill Avery said at a news conference Tuesday an arrest warrant has been issued for 73-year-old Gerald Gutenkust of Hudson. According to police, Gutenkust lived at the apartment on Central Street where an off-duty officer noticed flames early Monday morning.

Officer Colby Morton was on her way to the station when she noticed a bright light coming from an upstairs window at 194 Central Street.

"At first I just thought it was a light," she said. "I couldn't see anybody inside. The lower apartments were all dark."

Because there were other people living inside the apartment complex, Gutenkast will likely be charged with attempted murder and, Chief Avery said, "further charges are expected in that investigation."

It's unclear if anyone was targeted in the arson, but police said the door to Gutenkast's apartment was blocked and that three responding officers had to force their way in. Officers Alex Golner, Dan Donahue and Rob McNally showed up shortly after the call to find the fire spreading.

"The fire in the upstairs window was pretty intense. It was starting to come out the window," Officer Golner said. "People in the other apartments told us a guy was still upstairs. We were met by a door that was locked pretty securely. I used my bat to break the window...everything on the door was steaming hot."

Officer McNally had to crawl into the apartment and found Gutenkast unconscious.

"If the flames were inside or any closer to us, it definitely wouldn't have been safe to go in. The room we were in was covered in thick, black smoke," Officer Golner said. "It didn't seem like it was too unsafe to go in and we knew we were going to try."

The officers couldn't say if the door was intentionally barricaded but said, "there was something there."

"We couldn't see anything in the smoke, we could only see his knees down," Officer Donahue said. "There was just a huge cloud of smoke."

The trio pulled the man from the apartment. He was then rushed to a local hospital.

"Later [the fire department] did say that we stole their thunder a bit, I think they were appreciative though," Officer McNally said. "When I first found [the victim] he was not moving."

According to the state Fire Marshal's Office, a bomb squad was brought in to sweep the building before investigators went in to get started.

"We know where he is and, yes, there will be an arrest probably within the week," Fire Investigator Danielle Cole said.

Police indicated Gutenkust would likely be taken into custody in Massachusetts, though they wouldn't say where he is. Boston 25 News was told Monday he was taken to a Boston area hospital.

"The officers that acted that night resorted to their training by holding onto the back of one another's gun belt to guide themselves safely out," Chief Avery said. "As you can see, I'm a very proud individual to be standing here among the men and women of the Hudson Police Department."

Police said an arrest warrant has been issued for one count of arson and one count of attempted murder.

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