A man was arrested after police say he attempted to imprison two women in a house and then set the home on fire near Niles, Mich., late Tuesday night, March 1.

The 39-year-old man was arrested on several felony charges and will be identified once he is arraigned, according to Cass County Sheriff Joseph Underwood Jr.

Firefighters were called to the home on Huntley Road at about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday when a passerby noticed a fire on the porch of the house and called 911. When firefighters arrived, Underwood said the man told them to leave.

While the man was speaking with firefighters, the suspect’s girlfriend, another woman and five young children were able to escape from the home.

Witnesses told police that the suspect threatened them with a knife and that he tried to nail a bedroom door shut while the two women were inside the bedroom, according to Underwood.

The man also tried to set the house on fire in several locations, Underwood said. He was arrested by police on a nearby road.