William A. Feimster was charged with arson Tuesday after voluntarily going to the sheriff's department.
Feimster's mother wasn't home during the Nov. 20 fire, which destroyed the mobile home.
``He said it was very sloppy and he didn't like it,'' Berkeley County sheriff's Sgt. Russell Shackelford said.
Feimster, 25, told police he went there to get some videos to watch at work. Upset over the mess, he lit a roadside flare and put it in a kitchen garbage can, Shackelford said.
He then drove back to a private ambulance company where he worked. When the call was dispatched, he went out to help fight the blaze, police said.
Feimster, who also worked at South Berkeley Volunteer Fire Department, has been charged with embezzlement in an unrelated case. He faces a maximum of 20 years on the arson charge.
He was held Wednesday on $60,000 bail.
