Man suspected in arson at Bellevue home

BELLEVUE, Wash. — Bellevue police said a man was arrested, suspected of setting a woman’s home on fire early Thursday.

Bellevue fire was called to the home in the 100 block of 159th Avenue Southeast shortly after 3 a.m.  after a fire was set near the home's front door, according to the family who lives there.

Ethan Dutson, one of the people who lives in the home, said he was awake when he got an alert from the motion detector in front of the home.

"At first I ignored it because of the wind swaying and all of that," said Dutson.

But the 17 year-old said he saw an orange glow and smoke outside his window moments later.

"I screamed at my parents to get up and get out of the house, becuause there was a fire. I grabbed the house phone, immediately ran for the back door and called 911," said Dutson.

The fire was put out in less than 10 minutes, fire crews said.

What the Dutson family said they discovered when they checked their motion-activated surveillance system, was an arsonist attempting to light their house on fire at their front door and then running away.

The family said they believe they know the person who lit the fire and police later said a 56-year-old man was the suspect.

The suspect was later found by a patrol officer who picked him up as he was walking along the 14700 block of Main Street.  Bellevue police said they believed the fire was a domestic incident but did not say how the suspect was connected to the family.

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