A transient man has been taken into police custody in connection to a house fire Thursday in San Jose.
Shortly before the fire started, surveillance video footage showed the man sitting on a sofa on the front porch of the home in Horace Mann neighborhood. Firefighters say that's where the fire which displaced eight people from two homes at 165 and 155 N. Sixth St. started.
Everyone was safely evacuated with no injuries, including a Chihuahua, according to Capt. Mitch Matlow.
The home's tenants spotted the transient man walking nearby after the fire started. Neighbors say they helped surround the man to make sure he didn't go anywhere before police arrived.
"It's pretty amazing but they say a lot of the time people return to the crime, especially with arson, to see what happened and he did," one tenant said.
The fire was under control as of shortly after 12:30 p.m. The extent of interior damage to the two homes has not been confirmed, but Matlow said the porch of one home and the side of another were damaged after the fire spread from the original address at 165 N. Sixth St.
The American Red Cross is supporting the displaced residents.
