Niagara Police search for suspected arsonist in house fire

Niagara Police are looking for a suspected arsonist in an overnight fire at a Niagara Falls home.

The fire happened around 4:30 a.m. Monday at a home near Stanley Ave. and Valley Way.

A family of three was in the basement rental unit when they say they were woken up by barking dogs.

The man inside the unit says he ran upstairs and saw the fire on the back deck of the home.

He got his girlfriend and child and ran out.

No one was injured.

The other tenant was not home at the time.

HAPPENING NOW in Niagara Falls, a family of three escaped their basement rental unit in this home after a fire broke out on the back deck. A neighbour says she saw a man with a jerrycan appear to light the fire and run off. @morninglive @CHCHNews pic.twitter.com/eZo79ybx5i

— Matt Ingram (@MattIngramNEWS) June 29, 2020

There is damage to the back of the house and on the roof.

A neighbour says she saw a man running away from the scene holding what she thought was a jerrycan.

He was wearing a red banana over this mouth and nose.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact detectives at 905-688-4111 ext. 9388.