AUBURN — A Hampshire Street man was charged with arson early Wednesday after allegedly lighting a fire in his kitchen and attempting to start a grass fire outside.

Mark Ambrose, 40, of 52 Hampshire St., was arrested on a charge of arson at about 1:34 a.m. at his home.

Police said Ambrose attempted to burn some old newspaper clippings in a plastic bucket, causing the bucket and linoleum floor to burn. Ambrose put that fire out, police said, and took the remaining trash outside and attempted to start a small brush fire close to the building.

There was no damage to the apartment house and evacuation was not required, police said. But because Ambrose’s actions were deemed reckless, in a manner that threatened lives and property, he was charged with arson and burning without a permit.

Ambrose, who was on probation at the time of his arrest, was being held without bail at the Androscoggin County Jail on Wednesday night.

He has a criminal history here and in Oxford County, according to court records. In 2007, Ambrose was sentenced to 11 months in jail after he was convicted of plotting to have his ex-girlfriend and her husband murdered.

His record also includes unrelated convictions on charges of criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, theft and assault.