Saskatoon Police are investigating arson after a house fire in the city’s Pleasant Hill neighbourhood on Saturday afternoon.

At 4:14 p.m. the Saskatoon Fire Department was called to the 100 block of Avenue N South and arriving firefighters were greeted by smoke coming from the second storey of a house.

Fire crews started putting out the blaze and searching the home for occupants.

A man was found outside in the back yard reportedly covered in soot but uninjured. He was turned over to Saskatoon Police and charges are pending.

The Saskatoon Fire Investigator has determined the fire was deliberate, when garbage was set on fire in the dining room of the vacant, secured home

Damage is estimated at $50,000.