KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- An argument led up to a fire that burned down a vacant apartment building Thursday morning, Kansas City police said.

Police took Earl Carter into custody at the scene, and prosecutors charged him with first-degree arson.

The building at East 29th Street and Flora Avenue was supposed to be empty, but several homeless people were staying inside it, including Carter and his girlfriend.

Investigators said witnesses heard a woman scream at about 6 a.m., then they heard Carter threatened to burn the place down just minutes before the fire started.

A witness ran into Carter's apartment and extinguished a small fire in the dining room, but then he looked at the back porch and saw it ablaze.

Firefighters put out the flames and spend the rest of the day combing through the charred remains of the building with heavy machinery.

They were afraid someone may have been buried under the rubble, but they didn't find anyone, so it appeared everyone made it out safely.