A Norfolk man has been charged with arson after his arrest near the scene of a fire that had consumed an abandoned building at the corner of Colosse and Ballard roads.

Christopher Warren, 20, was charged with arson in connection with the fire that consumed the building early Saturday morning, according to 1st Sgt. Paul Phelps of the Isle of Wight Sheriff’s Department.

Phelps said that while firefighters were headed to the blaze, they discovered an abandoned 1989 Mitsubishi Eclipse in a ditch on the side of Ballard Road about a mile from where the house was on fire.

They called the sheriff’s department, which then requested a tracking dog from the Suffolk Police Department to help search for the people missing from the car.

At about 6 a.m., the dog led deputies to four juveniles and two adults who were walking along Walters Highway.

Phelps said the group admitted to being at the house when it was set afire. Warren had started the fire while playing with a lighter and some paper, Phelps said.

The juveniles were released to the custody of their parents, and the other adult was also released, he said.