Man Charged With Arson After Fire at Mankato Fraternity House

Mankato, MN (KROC-AM News) - A man living in a nearby group home has been charged with setting a fire that forced the evacuation of a Mankato fraternity house early Monday morning.

A criminal complaint filed in Blue Earth County Court says Mankato police officers responded to a report of a structure fire near the Minnesota State University campus shortly before 5 AM. When they arrived at the Phi Kappa Psi house, they found the roof of the porch engulfed in flames, which were spreading toward the residence.

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Students Escape as Flames Spread at Phi Kappa Psi

The students inside were running out when officers arrived. The complaint says the first officers at the scene ran inside to ensure everyone had gotten out safely while the fire was still spreading. They had to escape through a back door because the front entrance was blocked by flames.

Surveillance Video Shows Suspect Setting Porch Ablaze

According to the complaint, the home was equipped with surveillance cameras, and investigators identified 32-year-old Mitchell John Thompson as the person seen setting fire to a large sheet draped across the front porch area. The court document says the suspect then walked out of view before returning to ignite two additional hanging bedsheets.

The charges say a witness also reported seeing a man matching Thompson's description standing across the street from the fraternity house while the fire was burning. The witness told officers he went to the home and began banging on the front door to alert the occupants, at which point he saw the other man nearly running away.

Thompson was charged Tuesday with first-degree arson. His conditional bail was set at $500,000.

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