Man facing arson charges in connection with Raleigh apartment fire

RALEIGH, North Carolina (WTVD) -- Authorities have charged a man in connection with a 2-alarm fire at a Raleigh apartment complex Thursday evening.

Anthony Ridley has been arrested on suspicion of starting the large fire at the Pines of Ashton Apartments in the 300 block of Roselle Court off Calumet Drive.

The Raleigh Police Department said the 34-year-old intentionally ignited the blaze at his apartment on Roselle Court and it quickly spread to other units.

RELATED: East Raleigh apartment complex heavily damaged by fire

It took firefighters almost an hour to put out the towering inferno.

Fire officials say six apartments were destroyed, but residents from all 12 units in that building were evacuated.

The Red Cross says 41 people in all were displaced. They're assisting those who've asked for help.

"That's a travesty that someone would want to do that to an area like this. This is not a high income area," Resident Lane Schicke said. "It's not something where someone can easily bounce back from. To have someone just come in and torch the apartment building is kind of a scary thought."

"That's pretty crazy. I wouldn't want anything like that to happen to my apartment," resident Danika Hardy said.

Some residents said they didn't hear smoke alarms go off, however, Raleigh fire officials couldn't confirm that Thursday night and management has not returned ABC11's calls.