(Springfield, MO) -- Charges are now filed in that arson fire in Springfield yesterday.

We're told 49-year-old Norman Bennett is now charged with first-degree arson.

He's accused of setting fire to the house on the 1000 block of south Main around 4:30p.m.

It happened just minutes after that home explosion in the west side of town.

Two elderly people were inside at the time, who the Fire Marshall says Bennett knew.

They were rescued with no injuries. We caught up with the man who said he helped rescue the brother and sister inside.

"I banged on the door three or four times, finally I kicked it in, and said, hey you've got a fire in your house," says John Griffith who alerted the couple of the fire.

Fire Marshal Bill Spence says, "the case was put together fairly quickly, simply because not only did we have evidence on the scene, we also had eyewitnesses, who were on the scene, were able to strengthen the case considerably and identify the subject."

The home was destroyed. Bennett could serve five to fifteen years in prison, if convicted on the charge.


(photo courtesy Greene County Sheriff's Dept)