RIPLEY — A 52-year-old Ripley woman is facing a second-degree arson charge after starting a blaze that damaged a home Thursday.

Melissa L. Bridges is being held without bail following an investigation.

Members of the Ripley Fire Department, assisted by neighboring volunteers, responded around 11:30 a.m. to 100 W. Main St. for a residential fire.

According to county fire investigators, Bridges was “observed intentionally starting items on fire, next to the the residence, with the intent to burn the residence.”

“Those items did start the wood and vinyl siding of the house on fire,” the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze and kept damage to the exterior of the house.

Bridges was located a short distance away and taken into custody.

The residence was an apartment building with four apartments inside; there was one resident inside the building at the time the fire was set and was uninjured.