BELLINGHAM, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – A Bellingham man is in custody after police say he intentionally set fire to his own Barkley Village apartment.

Bellingham Police Lt. Claudia Murphy said officers responded to a suspected arson at an apartment complex on Sunset Drive around 5:30 p.m. on Friday, June 26.

Witnesses told officers that they noticed smoke coming from an apartment and entered it to find several items on fire.

The witnesses extinguished the blaze before the Bellingham Fire Department arrived and confirmed no one was inside.

Police say the 53-year-old resident was seen leaving the apartment just before the smoke was noticed. Surveillance cameras showed him looking around as he left and then hiding behind a nearby garbage can before running away.

Officers tracked the man down and arrested him, as investigators believed the fire had been intentionally set using flammable materials piled in the living room and kitchen area.

He was booked into the Whatcom County Jail on suspicion of first-degree arson and malicious mischief, along with several outstanding DUI warrants.