Aurora man charged with setting fire to apartment

A 27-year-old Aurora man faces charges after police said he barricaded himself in an apartment on the city's west side and lit it on fire Wednesday morning.

Aurora police said the Kane County state's attorney's office authorized three felony arson charges against Michael Paige, of the 500 block of North Lake Street.

Just after 10:30 a.m., officers responded to the 500 block of North Lake after receiving a report of a man threatening to set fire to his former girlfriend's belongings.

Police said officers arrived on the scene and also learned that the man was making threats to harm officers if they approached him.

As responding officers were making unsuccessful attempts to make contact with the man, officers saw smoke coming from inside the building. They contacted the Aurora Fire Department, which arrived and evacuated a man from another apartment in the building.

Firefighters extinguished the fire and located the suspect in the bedroom. He was taken to an Aurora-area hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.