Nature was calling.

That was the unusual motive a suspected burglar gave Butler police.

But Victor J. Weltner, 24, of Butler apparently couldn't explain why he allegedly was in the unoccupied house for an hour Saturday morning after the supposed emergency toilet stop.

He also admitted starting a fire at the home with a lighter, police said.

Weltner remains in the Butler County Prison in lieu of $50,000 bail while awaiting a preliminary hearing on burglary and arson charges.

It didn't take long for police to arrest Weltner after the fire call around 6:40 a.m. Flames were coming from the house by the time Butler firefighters arrived.

Crews needed an hour to get the fire under control. The blaze also caused heat and smoke damage to the outside of a neighboring house. No one was injured.

A witness told police he saw a man coming from the rear of the burning home. Soon afterward, police said they found Weltner reeking of smoke and bleeding from a bad cut on the left forearm.

He gave police three stories about what happened, according to investigators. At first, he claimed he was walking by and discovered the fire.

He said he cut himself by pounding on the window while trying to alert the residents.

His next story was that he was in the house with friends, who were setting fires.

At the station, and after waiving his Miranda rights, Weltner allegedly settled on a final account. He told police that he was walking home after drinking late into the night and he “had to go to the bathroom,” according to charging documents.

He recounted that he did not want to go outside, police said, “so he entered the house by breaking a window in the rear door, causing the injury to his arms.”

Reaching in the broken window opening, he allegedly unlocked the door and got inside. He claimed he did not know the house was unoccupied.

The homeowner told police that he was in the process of fixing up the house before moving in. There was no electrical service at the home at the time of the fire.

During his interview, Weltner allegedly related that he was in the house for more than an hour. He also disclosed that he was “screwing around with his lighter,” documents said, when he caught the kitchen curtains on fire.

Police said he told them the fire quickly spread and he fled.

Weltner's preliminary hearing was not immediately scheduled.