Police in Dayton, Tenn., have charged a 43-year-old man Friday with setting fire to his brother’s home, Fire Chief Charles Suttles said this morning.

James Edward Risner is being held in the Rhea County Jail on charges of arson and public intoxication, authorities.

Chief Suttles said a neighbor called 911 at 7:20 p.m. Friday to report a fire on Randi Circle and said he had seen a man he did not recognize walking away from the neighborhood.

As firefighters battled flames in a bedroom and living room of the home, Dayton police pursued the unknown man, Chief Suttles said.

Other Dayton residents called in sightings of the man as he hid in wooded areas and crossed yards while evading police. When officers caught up with the man, his face, hands and clothing were covered in soot and was identified as Mr. Risner.

Police interviewed witnesses in the Dayton Mountain community, who said Mr. Risner told them he was angry with his brother, Clevel Fletcher, and said he was “going to burn down his house,” Chief Suttles said.

“This was a no-brainer,” he said.

See Tuesday’s Chattanooga Times Free Press for complete coverage.

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