Authorities say a man confessed to setting a building adjacent to a downtown Spokane apartment complex on fire early Saturday as retaliation for the occupants “jumping him” a few days ago.

Israel Barrera, 29, called Spokane police to confess and ask for treatment to second-degree burns he sustained while setting the fire at 411 S. Maple St., Officer Tim Moses said in a news release.

An investigator with the Spokane Fire Department arrested Barrera at a hospital for first-degree arson. He sustained after sustaining burns caused by a “flammable vapor explosion,” from using of an accelerant, according to a fire department news release.

The home was unoccupied at the time and Barrera was the only person injured.

There is significant damage to the house due to the use of accelerant and residents will not be able to occupy it, police said. Damage is estimated at $40,000.

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