A Manchester man accused of starting a fire at a local Dollar General store is facing three arson charges.

McMinnville Fire Department and McMinnville Police Department responded to a fire at the site of the Dollar General store located at 1001 Sparta Street at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Friday morning.

According to authorities, the blaze was allegedly set by Matthew Howell, 19, who later admitted to MPD Detective Chris Summers he was responsible for the crime.

"I responded to the Dollar General after receiving an arson call and met with Ben Cantrell," Summers said. "Howell matched the description of the male observed running from the store, and he ran into the Tennessee Mental Health Consumers building."

According to the confession given by Howell, he had spoken to his mother on the phone and grown angry because she wouldn't pick him up right away and he ran from the building and to the Dollar General where he grabbed a torch lighter and began burning a bra.

Once Howell set the fire, he allegedly fled the building and wound up back in the parking lot of Tennessee Mental Health Consumers where Summers made contact with him and. After some initial reluctance, he allegedly admitted to setting the fire.

There were no injuries as a result of the fire, but three employees were inside the building at the time of the blaze. Howell was taken into custody and charged with three counts of aggravated arson. His bond is $30,000, and he is expected to appear in court Tuesday.

According to McMinnville Fire Chief Marty White, the Dollar General's current structure appears to be a total loss due to the severe damages caused by the fire, water and smoke.

When reached for comment in regards to the future of Dollar General in the Sparta Street location, Dollar General Public Relations said, "At this time, we are in the process of assessing the damage of our store and expect to have updated plans on the store's future at the conclusion of that assessment."