TAMPA, Fla. — Deputies made an arrest after a suspicious fire tore through a home in Tampa.
The fire happened early Saturday morning near the Hard Rock Casino. Fire rescue received multiple calls about flames shooting from a home on Thrasher Drive.
"Our priority in these calls is life first, and then kind of fighting the fire second," Rob Herrin with Hillsborough County Fire Rescue said.
Fighting to put out the flames and rushing to find someone they thought was trapped inside, fire crews tackled the blaze as quickly as they could.
"They weren't able to knock the gate down because it was padlocked, so I had a crowbar in my work truck and I took out to pry it open," neighbor Ryan Pinkerton said.
He knew something was wrong when he heard screams from his neighbor early in the morning before noticing smoke billowing from next door. As the flames grew, so did his concern for his safety.
"We saw the smoke rolling out and by that point, the lady had just taken off," Pinkerton said.
Meanwhile, firefighters on the scene found the home was empty and the blaze quickly turned into a crime scene.
"There is one individual one adult female that was arrested that morning," Herrin said.
10 Tampa Bay's Angelina Salcedo learned 31-year-old Guhnehf Bachkhaz was the renter of the home in flames and the sole person in the home at the time. She's now charged with arson and trespassing while at the center of the investigation.
"It hit me a little bit because, you know, that's my house right there and my son's room was right there. I don't need someone like that right next door to me," Pinkerton said.
While a motive is still unclear, neighbors admit she could've put them all in danger. Her arrest was a relief for people in the neighborhood.
"I'm glad that they got her because it'll make me feel a little better because, like I said, she would do that to her stuff, she might do it to anyone else," Pinkerton said.