 A man has been arrested on arson charges after setting a home on fire in northern township near Bemidji. Reporter Sharmal Moore has the details. New Year's Day turned into tragedy for one local Bemidji family as they were forced to leave their home last night. Thanks to a fire. We recall that approximately 10 22 p.m. Last night to a residence up in northern township off of Sunset Way. When deputies arrived, they found fire and smoke coming from a downstairs window of a split entry type home. We were able to relatively quickly extinguish that fire. The fire, though, did extend up into the attic prior to our arrival. It took us a little bit longer to extinguish the attic fire, but we were able to extinguish that relatively easily. Three people were in the home at the time of the blaze, including 20 year old Damien Patrick Smith. Smith has been charged with arson, attempted murder in the first degree and obstruction of legal process. Police say he was acting erratically during the initial investigation. Smith was first taken to the Sanford Emergency Hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation and was then booked into the Beltrami County Jail. He was reportedly unrelated to the other two people in the home. Not really quite sure what led him up to why he did that. We are investigating that and what his intentions were, but it's our belief he intended to cause harm to the people in the home by setting a fire and they were just helping him out for the evening. It was a cold night and they're helping him out. Two people are in the home during the time of the blaze, although luckily they were able to make it out okay. Today they're in the hands of the Bemidji Red Cross. Red Cross stepped in, found them a place to stay, also helping them with clothing and some of the basic essentials to begin with. If there's any folks in the area that want to help out, they can contact the local Red Cross office. Smith is expected to be arraigned and formerly charged tomorrow. As for the home, firefighters say it can be saved. The home had, I'm going to say moderate damage, certainly isn't a total loss. Reports of the home that did suffer some extensive damage, but there are lots of parts of the home that were untouched by the fire. Reporting of Bemidji, Sheryl Moore, Lakeland News. The victim's names have not been released pending the investigation. Firefighters said it took about an hour to completely extinguish the blaze. If you've enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland Public Television.