A 20-year-old northern Minnesota man is jailed on suspicion of setting an occupied house on fire near Bemidji, authorities said.
The blaze broke out about 8:20 p.m. Monday at the home in the 700 block of Sunset Way in Northern Township, a community that borders Bemidji on the north, the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office said.
Everyone in the house fled to safety, and sheriff's deputies were unable to douse the flames with fire extinguishers, the Sheriff's Office said. Bemidji fire personnel arrived and soon put out the blaze.
Investigators spoke with the occupants and noted "odd and erratic behavior" by the 20-year-old, who was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation, a Sheriff's Office statement read.
The man, who lives in Bemidji, was taken to jail on suspicion of first-degree arson, first-degree attempted murder and obstruction of the legal process.
