Man taken into custody after allegedly lighting his Kitimat, B.C. home on fire

A man has been taken into custody in Kitimat, B.C. after lighting his home on fire, according to police.

Mounties were called to conduct a wellbeing check at a home on Swan Street around 5:15 p.m. on Wednesday. When police arrived, the man threatened to harm himself, an RCMP source told Global News.

He reportedly refused to come out of the house.

Police parked their truck on the driveway in front of the garage. When the man decided he did want to leave, the source said he rammed his own vehicle against the inside of the garage door.

Footage from a neighbour’s security camera shows the garage door buckling as the vehicle pushes against it. It eventually burst open, striking the police truck as smoke billowed out from within.

The RCMP source alleged the man lit his home on fire from the inside. The precise cause of the blaze remains under investigation, the source told Global News.

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The man got out of the building before it was fully engulfed in flames and was taken into custody. In the security footage, firefighters are seen arriving as the garage begins to burn.

The fire spread to the neighbouring duplex.

B.C. RCMP did not immediately respond to additional requests for information.