APEX — A resident of the Brookridge Assisted Living center with a history of arson has been charged with setting fire to the facility last week, displacing 15 other residents.

Apex police charged Bobby Holden, 50, with first-degree arson, according to his arrest warrant. The warrant said that 50 residents and six staff were inside the building when the fire started in a utility closet Thursday night.

After the fire, residents not displaced were allowed to return to their rooms at the facility, located at 312 Lynch St. in Apex. That address is also listed as Holden’s residence on his warrant.

Holden was convicted of second-degree arson in 2001 and served about 16 months in prison, according to state Division of Adult Correction records. He also was convicted in 1993 of burning a public building and in 1988 of second-degree arson, serving prison terms of 27 months and 42 months.

Holden is being held at the Wake County Detention Center on $250,000 bail.