Nineteen residents are displaced after a fire at a three-story apartment on the 1600 block of Marion Street. (St. Paul Fire Department)
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - One person is in custody following an apartment fire in St. Paul Tuesday night that appears to be intentionally set.
The St. Paul Police Department said at about 6:15 p.m., officers responded to the 1600 block of Marion Street on a report of a man with a knife outside an apartment building. The 911 caller said the man approached him with the knife and followed him inside the building. He then saw the suspect pour a substance and then a short time later, his door was on fire and fire was coming into his apartment.
The suspect then fled the scene.
When officers arrived at the three-story apartment building, they saw smoke coming from the second floor of the building as well as visible flames on the back stairwell.
Authorities suspect an apartment fire on the 1600 block of Marion Street was intentionally set. (St. Paul Fire Department / FOX 9)
The St. Paul Fire Department responded to the fire. No injuries were reported.
Police located the suspect, a 38-year-old man, nearby and took him into custody. He was booked into the Ramsey County Jail for first-degree arson.
Nineteen residents were displaced by the fire and the building was condemned, according to the fire department.