Federal Way police officers arrested a 22-year-old Burien man on April 21 after he allegedly doused his girlfriend’s house with gasoline and set it on fire while she and her family were inside.

The man, who faces first-degree arson charges, arrived at his 18-year-old girlfriend’s mother’s house in Federal Way around 4 p.m. but was told to leave, according to the police report.

The girlfriend’s mother told police he lived with them in the past but was unwelcome because he has issues with alcohol.

After she asked him to leave, the man returned to his green Ford Mustang. His girlfriend of two years followed him but he appeared drunk and was “acting strange.” He asked her to go with him but she refused and told him to leave.

Shortly after, the girlfriend and her mother left to go to Safeway in Tacoma and were gone for about 45 minutes.

Upon returning, they noticed the man was still sitting in his vehicle in front of the house.

According to the police report, he approached his girlfriend and started to speak with her, when she told him to leave again. The girlfriend told police he became enraged and yelled out, “Why won’t you talk to me?”

At approximately 8 p.m., the man allegedly sent a stream of text messages to his girlfriend. One of them said, “Expect the unexpected lol,” and “Wow. Ok you broke up with me. Surprise …”

About an hour-and-a-half later, the mother yelled out there was a fire and to get outside. The 18-year-old, her 16-year-old brother, 14-year-old brother and 7-year-old sister fled the house while their mother called 911.

A South King Fire and Rescue investigator arrived at the scene and could see wood siding damaged by fire in an upward burn pattern. He also smelled gasoline in the air and in the samples he collected from the grass and dirt. The cause of the estimated $5,000 worth of damages is still be investigated, however, police were able to arrest the man after obtaining additional statements from the mother.

Two days later, she called police to tell them she had spoken to the man. She said he at first denied knowing anything about the fire but eventually broke down, crying,  and said, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it. I tried to stomp it out, but my jeans caught fire. I got scared and ran.”

The police report states she said he kept apologizing and that he was drunk and high. He later also admitted to her that he had bought the gasoline, according to the police report.

The Mirror will update this report as more information becomes available.