KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — An investigation by Knoxville fire investigators recently led to the arrest of a 51-year-old man.

The man was arrested after being caught on camera setting a business on fire according to the Knoxville Fire Department. The fire happened over the weekend at HireQuest Direct of Knoxville on Holly Street.

Surveillance cameras caught a man setting multiple fires to the exterior of the building.A person working at the business was able to identify the suspect as former HireQuest employee 51-year-old Larry Lee Hurst. He later confessed to setting the fires.

According to Knoxville Fire Department Assistant Chief Mark Wilbanks, fire investigators are crucial members of the Knoxville Fire Department’s team. They go through a lot of training to make sure every fire is investigated thoroughly.

“Firefighters can become certified as fire investigators in the state of Tennessee and they are law enforcement officials. They do have arrest powers, they carry weapons, all of that kind of stuff just like a police officer on the street,” said Assistant Chief Wilbanks.

Wilbanks said becoming a fire investigator is a long-term goal for many firefighters and there’s a lot of training that comes with the job.

“First they start out and become state certified and that’s an 80-hour training at the state of Tennessee level for all arson investigators. Once that’s complete, they go to the National Fire Academy in Emmitsburg, Maryland. They take another 80-hour course to become further certified in investigations and then they become certified through an organization called the International Association of Arson Investigators,” he said.

The Knoxville Fire Investigation Unit is a team of four members who use various tactics to determine if a fire was accidental or a case of arson.

Wilbanks explained, “there’s various things that can happen. Sometimes it takes a lot of investigation but we can do things like bring an arson dog, a bomb-and-arson dog in to run through the scene. And they can tell if an accelerant has been used something like gasoline, diesel fuel, something like that. Sometimes the investigators look at the electrical system in a building and see if someone has purposely done something to the electrical system.”

Wilbanks added that there are serious consequences for someone who’s found guilty of an arson-related crime.

“Arson is a Class C Felony in the State of Tennessee so there’s some possible prison time that can go along with that.”

Wilbanks said some cases can take a long time to solve. So the fact that Hurst’s arrest was made so quickly meant that there was a lot of evidence at the scene, including that surveillance video.