A Langhorne, Pa. man was arrested and placed in Centre County Prison yesterday after telling police he ignited papers hanging in Runkle Hall, causing a fire and $1,000 worth of damage, Penn State Police Services said.

Christopher Sheluga, 19, was charged with arson, causing or risking a catastrophe, recklessly endangering another person, institutional vandalism, criminal mischief, liquor law violations and disorderly conduct.

Sheluga was arraigned by District Justice Ronald Horner and held on $7,900 bail. He is scheduled for a preliminary hearing Wednesday.

According to police documents, Sheluga was read his Miranda rights and waived them, agreeing to speak to police. Sheluga said he used a lighter to ignite the bulletin board across from the room of a resident assistant. Sheluga did not explain why he set the fire, police said.

Penn State police said they responded to a fire alarm on the first floor of Runkle Hall early Wednesday morning and evacuated the 293 students that reside in the dorm.

According to police, a resident assistant said he woke up to fire alarms and found the bulletin board across from his room and part of the ceiling engulfed by flames. He extinguished the fire by throwing a garbage can of water on the fire and by patting the remaining flames with his sweatshirt.

While investigating the cause of the fire, Penn State police contacted two Penn State students who encountered Sheluga as they were exiting the dorm. According to police documents, one of the students said Sheluga grabbed her by the arm and told her to run. When she asked him why she should run, Sheluga said because there were papers on fire.

According to Penn State police, the woman did not see Sheluga ignite the papers.

A spokeswoman from the Office of the Registrar said yesterday Sheluga was not a Penn State student, however he was applying to attend the university.

Whether he was accepted or if he was staying on the floor or dorm with a resident prior to the fire was not clear yesterday.