Caught on camera: Man seen on video moments before condo fire in Clarkston

CLARKSTON, Ga. - A DeKalb County woman says someone set a fire at her front door while she was inside her home. The horrifying ordeal erupted at a condo on Ridge Creek Drive in Clarkston. Home surveillance video caught images of a man on camera seconds before the fire broke out.

The video shows a man walk up to a condo with what appears to be a bottle with a rag sticking out of the top. He appears to spread something at the base of the door.

Monique Cole says she was in a virtual meeting for work when her pets alerted her something was wrong.

"My dogs were barking hysterically," Cole said. "Then I got a notification from my doorbell that there was motion at my door."

And then she saw the smoke. "I’m thinking, ‘Oh my god! What the hell?’" she said.

The fire scorched the outer wall, her door and welcome mat. "Very scary. Extremely scary. I’ve never been through anything like this in my life," she said.

Cole fears what would have happened if her dogs didn’t warn her of the danger. "I probably would’ve been dead. Would’ve lost everything, would’ve lost my fur babies, everything that I have," she said.

Cole says she has no idea who that man was or why anyone would want to harm her. "I’m getting emotional about it again. It took over an hour for me to calm my nerves down for my hands to stop shaking," she said.

Cole put out the fire in minutes. DeKalb County police are investigating. DeKalb Fire Rescue is looking into this as a case of arson.