WATERBURY, Connecticut — Firefighters responding to a house fire found a man who claimed he intentionally set the blaze to escape his room. He said he had been starved and held captive for more than 20 years by his stepmother.

A Connecticut man allegedly held captive and starved by his stepmother for more than two decades escaped the small room he had been locked away in by setting their house on fire, authorities said Wednesday.

An emaciated man, 32, says he was held in his room for 20 years and set it on fire to gain his freedom, according to police. His stepmother was charged with cruelty and kidnapping.