Minnesota Man Caught Burning Down Apartment While Playing ‘We Didn’t Start The Fire’

According to recently filed charges, a landlord in Duluth, Minnesota intentionally ignited a fire in his apartment while playing Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire."

Who Is This Person?

Travis Carlson, 37, faces one felony charge of first-degree arson in connection to the May 18 Incident, court documents show.

Get our free mobile app

What Did Police Find?

As stated in the official accusation, police received a call reporting a fire in an upstairs apartment located in the 2400 block of Fourth Street in Duluth at around 4 a.m. Without delay, emergency responders arrived on the scene only to find that "We Didn't Start the Fire" was being played loudly from the apartment engulfed in flames.

What Did The Tenants Say?

The downstairs tenant says they woke up to their landlord, identified as Carlson, "smashing glass and breaking things" for about 20 minutes, according to the complaint. Carlson then knocked on the downstairs tenant's apartment, telling the tenant that "the house is on fire."

A neighbor also told officers that they saw Carlson under his truck with gas cans, going in and out of the house. An investigation revealed a drilled hole in his truck's gas tank with lids to gas cans laying around the truck. The complaint also notes that "green liquid lines from a burned accelerant" stained several pieces of furniture in the apartment.

Officials say Carlson was found the next day with "fresh burn injuries" to his arms and legs.