Market Basket employee accused of starting fires that temporarily closed North Shore store

GLOUCESTER, Mass. — A Market Basket employee is accused of starting the fires that temporarily closed the North Shore location last week.

Matthew Johnson, 35, is facing two counts of burning personal property and attempting to burn a building after allegedly setting two separate fires at the Market Basket on Gloucester Crossing Road in Gloucester on Friday, March 14, the Massachusetts State Fire Marshal’s office said Thursday.

Gloucester firefighters responded to the supermarket around 8:20 p.m. Friday after a fire began in the rear of the building, officials say. As firefighters began to battle that fire, crews soon found another fire burning elsewhere in the store.

Firefighters managed to extinguish both fires by 9:00 p.m. Nobody was injured in the fire and the store was able to reopen the next day.

The Gloucester Fire Department shared photos of firefighters dousing several torched cardboard boxes at the scene.

Johnson’s arrest came after an investigation by the Gloucester Police Department, Gloucester Fire Department, and State Police fire investigators assigned to the State Fire Marshal’s office.

Johnson is expected to be arraigned in Gloucester District Court this afternoon, according to the State Fire Marshal’s office.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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