MILTON — The electrician who helped lead authorities to an incendiary device in a Milton home said Wednesday he became concerned when he spotted a single wire not connected properly in the house.
Francois Charlotin Jr. said he was checking outlets and switches in the Milton home Tuesday when he saw the wire, prompting him to alert the homeowner.
He described his work as routine, but that the wire was unusual enough to raise a red flag. His discovery may have prevented the device from eventually going off.
“We were just trouble shooting,” Charlotin said. “One wire didn’t attach to a light. . . . I was expecting a light.”
Charlotin’s find led police to the device, plastered into a bedroom closet and wired to explode when a light switch was flipped in the single-family home. A bomb squad safely disarmed the device, which authorities described as a plastic jug filled with accelerant.
Police have not disclosed any potential motive for the crime, and no arrests have been made. They have said that investigators are looking at several people, focusing on those who have had access to the house.
The owner of the home, Lindel Williams, said Tuesday that his most recent tenants — a couple with a daughter — had moved out last weekend after living there since June. Williams said he had also discovered that concrete had recently been poured into the plumbing.
Williams, who had said he was stunned that someone would plant such a device, declined to comment Wednesday.
“I can’t say much, it’s under investigation,” he said.
Milton Fire Chief John J. Grant Jr. said the device included an antifreeze container filled with gasoline, but had no other details.
Jennifer Mieth, a spokeswoman for the state fire marshal’s office, said investigators had gathered some evidence that would be sent for testing.
“I would describe the device not as an explosive device, but a timing device that was intended to start a fire,” Mieth said.
According to town records, Charlotin got two permits to do work in the home. One, granted March 19, was to add four smoke detectors. The other, issued Monday, called for a safety inspection of electrical devices in the basement. The permits for the electrical work and a building permit were pulled after fire inspectors found a basement kitchen in the home March 16, said Joseph Prondak, Milton’s building commissioner and zoning officer.
Williams was in the process of finalizing the sale of the five-bedroom ranch, which had been in foreclosure, according to officials and public records. The home made headlines in 1990 when its owner was found beaten to death there, the Patriot Ledger newspaper reported.
Fire inspectors visited the home to make sure it had smoke alarms before a new owner took over, Prondak said.
Prondak said he visited the home last week and also found Williams had failed to obtain a permit to remove some sheet rock from basement walls to address a former flooding problem. Because of that, Prondak said he wanted an electrician to check on the wiring.
After Prondak’s visit, Williams obtained a permit Monday to remove the basement kitchen, repair water-damaged walls, and build a home office in the basement, records show. He said it did not appear that anyone was living in the home.
Williams declared bankruptcy in 2012, records show.
The town had put a lien on the property for nonpayment of taxes, but it was removed in March 2012 after Sovereign Bank paid the debt of $3,084. A bank has since paid the property taxes, a town official said.
Records show Williams owes Milton for an unpaid water bill and excise taxes. Town Water Department records show a final bill was sent to him March 18, seeking $1,662.40.
Nearby, neighbors remained unsettled by the find.
“It’s very scary,” said a woman named Rose who lives next door.
Laura Crimaldi can be reached at laura.crimaldi@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @lauracrimaldi. Peter Schworm can be reached at schworm@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globepete.