Two adults lose their home in Chesapeake camper fire; man faces arson charges

Fire marshals arrested Charles Slight Jr., 67, in connection with the blaze. He faces three counts of felony arson and one count of threat to burn, according to charge information attributed to Assistant Fire Marshal Capt. Steven Bradley in WTKR and WTVR reports. Those are allegations, not findings that Slight committed the offenses.⁠4⁠1

The arrest and four charges became public in reports published November 1, 2026. That establishes when the criminal case was reported, not precisely when marshals arrested Slight or when the charges were formally filed. Neither date has been established through a defendant-specific court or official incident record.⁠4⁠1⁠13

The fire burned in the 100 block of Alice Street, in Chesapeake’s Deep Creek area. Flames threatened three nearby homes, according to the Chesapeake Fire Department account relayed by WTKR and WTVR. A detached garage also sustained damage, 13News Now reported, though the extent of that damage and its repair cost have not been established.⁠4⁠1⁠5

For the camper’s residents, describing this only as a vehicle fire would miss the immediate consequence. It destroyed the place they lived. Temporary lodging addresses the need for somewhere to stay; the available reporting does not establish what longer-term housing will follow.

The accounts leave two important details unresolved: the calendar date of the fire and whether all three nearby houses suffered physical damage. Neither uncertainty changes the reported destruction of the camper, but both matter to an accurate account of the incident.

WTVR’s November 1 report places the fire on November 1. The Virginian-Pilot, also reporting November 1 but later that day, places it on Halloween morning—Saturday, October 31. Separately, 13News Now describes an early Sunday fire, supporting the November 1 account. The later Pilot account does not establish that it was correcting the other reports, and the discrepancy remains unresolved.⁠1⁠2⁠5

The reported local clock times are more specific: the emergency call came at 2:58 a.m., and firefighters brought the blaze under control at 3:35 a.m. Those times describe the response without settling which morning it happened. They also cannot be used to infer the arrest or filing date.⁠2

The damage descriptions require a similar distinction. WTVR’s November 1 report says three homes were threatened. WTKR’s video headline, published the same day, says three homes were damaged, while its fuller account describes a threat to nearby homes. WTVR’s headline likewise uses stronger damage language than its account supports. The reporting does not resolve whether all three houses were physically damaged.⁠1⁠3⁠4

The detached garage damage reported by 13News Now is an additional property loss, not confirmation that three houses were damaged. The clearest supported account is narrower: the camper was destroyed, a garage was damaged and neighboring homes were endangered.⁠5⁠2⁠4

Investigators have not publicly explained how they believe the fire started or what evidence connects Slight to its ignition. The cause remains under investigation. Nor does the available account identify which alleged acts or properties underlie each of the three arson counts; the count total is not evidence of three separate fires.⁠2⁠4

The threat-to-burn allegation is also unexplained. Flames threatening neighboring buildings describe the fire’s reach. That is not, by itself, an explanation of the separate criminal charge against Slight. Officials have not described the circumstances behind that allegation in the reporting available.⁠4⁠1

No response from Slight, plea, bond decision, verified custody status, case number or next hearing date has been established. The court and jail-search material provides no populated, defendant-specific result; that absence is not proof that no case exists or that he has been released.⁠13⁠17

The next consequential development would be a verifiable court record or investigative account explaining the four allegations and the next legal step. Until then, the public account establishes an arrest and serious charges, but not the evidence needed to judge them. What is already clear is the loss on Alice Street: two adults need another place to live.