An Essex man was arrested on arson and attempted murder charges after he set fire to the Columbia town house of his estranged girlfriend and her daughter, Howard police said.

Scott Allen Pryor, 44, used an accelerant on the first floor around 7:40 a.m. Monday, Howard police said.

His ex-girlfriend’s daughter, Breanna Alman, 19, and Andrew Lee, 20, were in the town house when the fire started. The ex-girlfriend and home-owner, Sheryl Alman, 46, was not home at the time, police said.

Breanna Alman collapsed at the front door while trying to escape and had to be rescued by fire and rescue personnel. She was found unconscious with burns to about 20 percent of her body, said Bill Mould, spokesman for the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue. She remains in critical condition at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Burn Center, police said.

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Lee, whose relation to the family is unknown, climbed out of a second-floor window, police said.

“Neighbors saw him hanging and scurried around to bring over a ladder to him,” Mould said. It is unclear whether he used the ladder or jumped about 10 feet to the ground. He is in serious condition at University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore City. The fire was extinguished in about 10 minutes, leaving an estimated $500,000 in damage.

“It looked suspicious instead of accidental, like it had potential to be a murder, which is when homicide detectives take over,” Mould said.

Witnesses saw Pryor leaving the residence before the fire started. He lived at the residence from 2004 until recently when the relationship ended, police said. Detectives arrested Pryor on Tuesday morning in Edgewood. He faces two counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of attempted second-degree murder, first- and second-degree arson, assault, burglary and other related charges. He is being held at the Howard County detention center without bond.

cpeirce@baltimoreexaminer.com