Leaving ID at the scene of the crime ...

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Police said a suspected arsonist was arrested after they found his birth certificate at the scene of a fire this week.

The 19-year-old man from Waukesha was arrested Wednesday after officials found his birth certificate at the scene of Sunday's fire, Waukesha Fire Marshal Brian Charlesworth said.

"You would think somebody wouldn't do that," Charlesworth said. "But, fortunately for us, they did."

The man was also being held in connection with a fire on May 29 that damaged a historic home in town.

Police and firefighters noted similar characteristics between the two fires. The most recent fire was a series of small ones at a telecommunications business, said Lt. William Graham. The man's birth certificate was found at the back of the building, he said.

Immigration officials have been contacted because the man told police he was in the country illegally, he said. Charges could come as soon as Friday, he said.

The nearly 100-year-old Nelson House home sustained moderate damage in the blaze and was not destroyed. The home was built in 1910 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.