MANCHESTER - A man who recently moved into a Pine Street boarding house is accused of setting a trash can on fire in the alley next to the building.

Shawn Rappuhn, 52, who gave police an address in Port St. Lucie, Fla., was recorded on video surveillance starting the fire at 1:15 a.m. Friday in a trash can next to the 455 Pine St. boarding house, according to a police press release.

Firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze before flames could spread to the occupied boarding house several feet away. The manager of the building viewed surveillance video of the man who started the fire and recognized him as Rappuhn who moved into the building several days earlier, according to police.

Rappuhn is charged with arson as well as two counts of simple assault after police learned he allegedly assaulted his girlfriend in their residence just prior to officers arriving on the scene.