Neighbors on Copeland Road were surprised to hear on Monday afternoon that the occupant of a nearby home had been charged with arson after the house burned early Monday morning.

Thomas Joseph Anctil, 33, was arrested and is being held without bond at Western Tidewater Regional Jail, according to a news release from the city.

Anctil lived in the home but was not the owner, city spokeswoman Diana Klink said. Online real estate assessment data lists the owner of the property as Patricia Anctil, with a Virginia Beach mailing address.

Emergency dispatchers were notified of the fire at 2:36 a.m. Firefighters arrived 12 minutes later and found the single-story home fully engulfed in flames. The fire was declared under control at 3:27 a.m.

Thomas Anctil was sent to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation after the fire, according to a city press release.

Two dogs were found dead at the home, and one firefighter was treated on the scene for heat exhaustion.

Neighbor Gail Williams said she did not know Anctil or any other occupants of the property near the corner of Copeland Road and Whaleyville Boulevard well. Three people lived in the home, she said, and one person lives in a camper behind the home.

“That’s a shame,” she said of the arrest. She also said she had been sad to hear of the deaths of the dogs, which she described as a male Rottweiler and a female lab and chow mix.