18-year-old faces B&E, attempted arson charges; Student is held on $25,000 bail.

• Position: LOCAL NEWS

Byline: Kim Ring

WARREN - Police arrested a Quaboag Regional High School senior after he allegedly broke into a local business and left behind items that prompted a response from the state police Fire & Explosive Investigation Unit early yesterday.

Benjamin R. Cyr, 18, of 14 Milton Fountain Way, was ordered held on $25,000 bail after an appearance before Judge Paul A. Losapio in Western Worcester District Court in East Brookfield.

He was charged with possession of a burglars tool, trespassing, breaking and entering in the nighttime with the intent to commit a felony, attempting to commit larceny, attempting to commit arson and breaking glass in a building.

Police believe the teen used The Works, a bathroom cleaner, together with aluminum foil in an effort to start a fire inside Starrex, a local manufacturing plant on Main Street.

"It is well known that combining The Works with tinfoil in a bottle creates a violent chemical reaction resulting in an explosion," Officer David Mellen wrote in his report.

Workers who arrived at the plant just before 7 a.m. yesterday smelled something burning and searched for the source of the odor. When they heard noises on the roof, one employee went outside to check and found Mr. Cyr sitting near a high voltage area, his legs dangling from the roof and a ladder nearby, police wrote in their report.

The employee told Mr. Cyr to come down from the roof and brought him inside, where Warren police, who had just arrived, were waiting.

Employees and police allegedly found several areas inside the business where...