MATTHEWS, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — A member of the Matthews Fire Department was arrested after being accused of setting a vacant building on fire along Independence Boulevard.
According to the Matthews Police Department, Battalion Chief Peter Blaich, 54, was charged with burning of certain buildings. This comes after investigators became suspicious of a fire that Blaich had allegedly called in.
On Jan. 12, firefighters and Medic received a call from someone who identified themselves as “Matthews Battalion 1” reporting a smoke investigation at the former Boston Market on East Independence Boulevard and Sam Newell Road. Court documents say that the number belonged to Blaich.
According to an affidavit, when Blaich arrived on scene, he told Matthews Capt. Wilson Tart that he thought he saw smoke coming from the roof. When Tart said he didn’t see smoke, he followed Blaich to the right side of the building and entered through a broken glass door. They eventually discovered the fire on top of a door frame between the restrooms and the kitchen.
Tart noted that it seemed suspicious that the fire was in the wall and there was no electrical power in the building. While performing a primary search, a second fire was located in an office on the opposite side of the building, which Tart described as a “smoldering fire” and noted burn marks on other parts of the cabinets.
In a Matthews FD report from that night, written by Blaich, it stated that he spoke with Deputy Fire Marshal Christopher Lawrence two days after the fire. Based on his findings, he believes the fire was “set by human hands,” but it did not appear to have been set by a possible homeless person trying to stay warm.
On Jan. 22, Blaich did a walk-through of the scene with Lawrence and County Fire Marshal Matt Bixler, who agreed that someone with a vast knowledge of fire and how buildings are constructed would know where the fires were located would not cause the building to burn quickly or completely.
Investigators later learned that Blaich’s vehicle’s GPS location was seen at the Boston Market hours before the fire. Investigators noted that it was also suspicious that Blaich knew about the fire and smoke when it was undetectable to other fire department personnel on scene.
During interviews, investigators learned Blaich was seen driving up and down Sam Newell Road for a couple of hours. Tart said during an interview that he started tracking Blaich’s movements after a suspicious fire in March 2025. Tart said his vehicle stopped behind the Boston Market three hours before the fire.
Blaich made contact with Matthews Police dispatch around 11:54 p.m. and told them he had run off some homeless people from Boston Market and requested that police do checks of the building.
Based on evidence obtained by Matthews detectives, in partnership with the Mecklenburg County Fire Marshal’s Office, the Magistrate’s Office issued a warrant for Blaich’s arrest.
Town officials say Blaich has been placed on leave with Matthews Fire & EMS pending an internal investigation.
“The charges involve an individual employee and do not reflect the values, standards, or professionalism of Matthews Fire & EMS, and the Town continues to have full confidence in the department and its leadership,” the town said in a statement.
According to court documents, Blaich posted bond of $10,000 on Friday, Jan. 23.
Blaich joined the Matthew’s Fire Department July 8, 2024 after coming from the Cornelius-Lemley Fire Rescue. His previous department said he was in New York on September 11, 2001 operating in Stairwell B of the North Tower when the South Tower collapsed.
This remains an active and ongoing investigation.
