This story was updated on Jan. 29, 2010.

Police and fire officials say a Hyattsville man they believe lit a police officer's Germantown apartment ablaze was seeking revenge against the officer, who had previously arrested him.

Montgomery and Prince George's county police arrested Raven Michael Masters, 30, at his home in Hyattsville on Friday morning. He was charged with one count of first-degree arson and four counts of attempted first-degree murder, said Scott Graham, assistant chief in Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service.

The fire occurred around 4:40 a.m. Jan. 19 in the 12200 block of Eagles Nest Court in Germantown, Graham said. Firefighters rescued four families from second- and third-story balconies in the apartment complex and took one person to a hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation. The blaze caused $100,000 in damages and at least 30 occupants were displaced from the apartment building, fire officials have said.

A tracking dog picked up the smell of an accelerant that Masters, of the 1210 block of Gondar Avenue in Hyattsville, allegedly used to start the fire, Graham said.

He could not comment on how Masters was developed as a suspect in the case.

Masters found where the officer lived on the Internet, Graham said.

"It's pretty easy to find out where anyone lives these days," Graham said. "He targeted a Montgomery County police officer and luckily no one was seriously hurt."

Court records show Masters is awaiting trial for a second- and fourth-degree burglary charge in Montgomery County Circuit Court. His attorney in that case, Laura Rhodes, said she had not discussed the latest charges with Masters and did not know if she would represent him in that case.

"All I see is the police speculating that Mr. Masters is connected to the Germantown fire simply because a police officer there arrested him last April," Rhodes said in an e-mail.

In the last year, court records show Masters had also been cited six times in Montgomery County for driving on a suspended license and for fourth-degree burglary but all charges were dropped.