Washington County man lit his home on fire before fleeing the scene, police say

A Washington County man is behind bars after law enforcement says he lit the home he was living in on fire, then fled the scene.

Midway resident Patrick Cooper says he first realized there was a problem next door late Sunday.

"It was about 10 o'clock last night; they were arguing in the front yard. The police were here. The wife left, and about two hours later, that's when we saw the house was on fire," Cooper said.

Police say Michael Patrick Higgins Sr., 34, took off after he allegedly intentionally set the fire to the home in the 100 block of South Main Street in Midway.

"[I've] never seen something like this before. Totally bizarre," neighbor Jeff Spencer said. "It was like, 'Oh, wow, man. What the hell happened?'"

No one else was home at the time of the fire. Firefighters did manage to rescue the family dog.

"They had their problems, but I didn't think he'd set the house on fire," Cooper said.

Cooper, the former Midway police chief, says law enforcement is very familiar with Higgins Sr.

"He's been charged with domestic violence before," Cooper said.

Court records indicate that before he allegedly set the fire, Higgins Sr. sent a threatening text to one of the children who lives there, saying if the young man came back home, he'd "kill him in his sleep."

"The first thing that came to mind was the kids. The grandson is in our house all the time; he plays football with my grandson," Cooper said.

Police arrested Higgins Sr. not far from the scene. He remains in the Washington County Jail facing numerous charges, including risking a catastrophe, animal cruelty and drug counts.