Daniel Field is led away in handcuffs Tuesday afternoon from his burning home at 39 Pleasant St. in Mechanic Falls. The 30-year-old is charged with deliberately setting the fire, Maine Public Safety spokesperson Lt. Andrew Turcotte said Wednesday afternoon. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

MECHANIC FALLS — A local man was being held on $20,000 cash bail Wednesday, a day after being charged with setting fire to his home at 39 Pleasant St., officials said.

Mechanic Falls police arrested Daniel Field, 30, as fire crews battled thick smoke and flames shooting from the two-story home around 5 p.m. Tuesday.

He was charged with arson and failure to control or report a fire, and taken to the Androscoggin County Jail in Auburn. He remained there after appearing in court Wednesday, a corrections officer said.

Maine Public Safety spokesperson Lt. Andrew Turcotte said state investigators ruled the fire was incendiary, or intentionally set.

Mechanic Falls Fire Rescue Chief Fred Sturtevant said a state fire marshal told him the fire started in a garbage can on a porch at the back of the house.

Daniel and another occupant made it safely out of the building, the chief said.

Three investigators from the Office of State Fire Marshal were on scene Tuesday night to determine the cause, Sturtevant said.

The home owner is listed as John Field, according to town assessing records.

Sturtevant said John is Daniel’s father.

The house had been undergoing extensive renovations for the past 2 1/2 years, Sturtevant said. Due to the extensive damage, he said he considers it a total loss, estimated at $400,000. He said he did not know if it was insured.

The fire was reported by numerous people who saw it, the chief said. At least a dozen fire departments were called to battle the blaze. The most difficult task for firefighters, Sturtevant said, was the metal roof that trapped heat, smoke and flames. Firefighters had to cut through the metal to vent it.

Rush-hour traffic also made response from outlying towns difficult, Sturtevant said.

The house is in the village area along Route 121.

“Everybody was getting out of work, so manpower was a real struggle for us,” the chief said.