Jose Rubi Alvarado

By Jillian Pikora From Daily Voice

A fire inside a vacant Uniondale building left a homeless man hospitalized and facing charges investigators announced on Tuesday, Dec. 9.

Jose Rubi Alvarado, 29, was found inside 899 Jerusalem Avenue after patrol officers came across a fire in the vacant structure at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, Dec. 8, according to the Nassau County Arson Bomb Squad.

The Uniondale Fire Department responded and extinguished the blaze, police said. Detectives later determined Alvarado started the fire, which caused damage to the building, according to the release.

Alvarado was transported to a nearby hospital for a medical evaluation.

He is charged with Arson 4th Degree and is scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday, Dec. 9, at First District Court in Hempstead, police said.