A Redding man is accused of trying to burn down his own house while it was occupied. Redding Police were called at 7:22PM Friday night to Lazelle Court off Victor Avenue on reports that 31-year-old John Strong was attempting to start a fire in his garage while other people were inside, including children. When officers got there strong was in the backyard lighting pieces of wood on fire. He refused to surrender as officers negotiated with him for about 15 minutes. He was allegedly saying that he wanted the police to shoot him dead. It didn’t seem like he was going to give up, so Abel the K-9 was set loose on strong, who continued to resist but was eventually subdued and arrested. He was badly hurt by the dog and hospitalized. When he gets out he’ll be booked into jail for arson of an inhabited dwelling, elder abuse, child endangerment and resisting arrest. Strong is on parole, having recently been released from prison where he was serving time for robbery.