AUBURN — A Lewiston woman who told investigators she used hairspray and a lighter to start two fires in and around electrical outlets was indicted Wednesday on four charges of arson.

An Androscoggin County grand jury handed up four felony charges against Jackie S. McBurnie, 33, of 197 Bartlett St., stemming from fires in Lewiston on New Year’s Day and a day later.

Each of the charges is punishable by up to 30 years in prison.

McBurnie remains at Androscoggin County Jail in lieu of $10,000 cash bail.

According to court papers, McBurnie confessed to starting a fire in a second-floor apartment at 168 Bartlett St. on New Year’s Day by spraying the area around a kitchen outlet with hairspray, then igniting it with a lighter. Fire investigators found combustible materials shoved into the wall behind that kitchen outlet. She said she had become frightened after setting that fire and quickly put it out.

McBurnie called the Lewiston Fire Department to report the fire, which caused minor damage.

About 10 hours later, at about 1:45 a.m. on Jan. 2, McBurnie had sprayed hairspray around an outlet in her sister’s bedroom in the same apartment and lit it, she told investigators. The resulting damage to the building was extensive.

After calling 911 after the first fire, McBurnie complained about the building’s electrical wiring as well as a lack of heat despite complaints from tenants. Power was disconnected to the kitchen outlet and McBurnie was allowed to return to the apartment.

McBurnie’s twin sister, Jennifer Costello, told investigators that she had shared her apartment with McBurnie since October after she had lost her apartment. Costello said she believed McBurnie had spent her rent money on drugs, according to court papers.

Costello said she had been staying in an apartment down the street since Dec. 30. McBurnie had called Costello on Jan. 1 to report the kitchen outlet fire. McBurnie had asked her sister if she planned to return that night.

A fire investigator wrote in court papers that he believed McBurnie expected the Bartlett Street building would be closed and its tenants relocated after the fire in her kitchen on New Year’s Day. The investigator also believed that McBurnie sent a text message to another tenant in the building to warn her about the Jan. 2 fire before it occurred.

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