Photo: Getty Images
The landlord of a Duluth, Minnesota, is accused of intentionally setting his apartment on fire while loudly playing 'We Didn't Start the Fire' by Billy Joel.
Travis Carlson, 37, was charged with felony first-degree arson in relation to the May 18 incident, according to court documents obtained by CBS News.
Local police officers responded to the scene of an upstairs apartment on fire just after 4:00 a.m, according to the incident's criminal complaint. First responders said the song 'We Didn't Start the Fire' was blaring from inside the apartment as it was already on fire, according to the documents.
A tenant who lives downstairs said they woke up to the sound of Carlson "smashing glass and breaking things" for about 20 minutes before the landlord knocked on the downstairs tenant's apartment and told them that "the house is on fire." A neighbor also told police that they'd seen Carlson under his truck with gas cans before entering and exiting the facility.
Investigators found that a hole was drilled into the gas tank of Carlson's truck and lids to gas cans were spotted laying around the truck at the scene. Additionally, the complaint stated that "green liquid lines from a burned accelerant" stained several pieces of furniture inside the apartment.
Carlson was reported to have experienced "fresh burn injuries" to his arms and legs when he was located by police the following day. The landlord faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted of the felony charge.