ROBBINSDALE, Minn. — A 34-year-old man was arrested in Robbinsdale Saturday for active warrants and arson charges after a home went up in flames.
Robbinsdale police said officers responded to the 3200 block of Halglo Place for a report of an unwanted person in a home refusing to leave. Police made contact with the 34-year-old suspect on the second floor of the home. He had active warrants for arrest, officials said.
While officers were putting the suspect into a squad car, they said they heard several loud "popping" sounds and looked back to the home. That's when police saw flames in the second-story window where the suspect had been.
After securing the suspect in the squad car, police called dispatch to alert the fire department. Police said they ran back into the house to evacuate several people and animals. Some of the people reentered the building and had to be evacuated multiple times, police said.
No injuries were reported.
Multiple crews battled the fire, which left substantial damage to the residence.
“The officers on the scene chose to run into a burning building, at their own peril, to save the lives of other people and animals. These were truly heroic actions,” Captain John Elder of the Robbinsdale Police Department said in a press release.
The 34-year-old suspect was booked into the Hennepin County Adult Detention Center on Probable Cause Arson and his outstanding warrants.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
