Elderly man found dead in US home after arson attack

A US woman has been filmed starting a house fire that claimed the life of an elderly man trapped inside.

Video streamed to Facebook Live on Friday showed a woman leaning through a window of a Milwaukee, Wisconsin home and dousing the floor in petrol before setting it alight.

A small crowd watched and some could be heard laughing as the fire engulfed the ground floor of the house as the suspect fled.

But a woman was inside the property, and she could be seen clambering out of a window and running to safety.

Neighbours who witnessed the arson attack raced to the front door and kicked their way in before at least eight fire trucks arrived at the scene, WISN reports.

Milwaukee resident Willie Greer, 72, died in the fire.

The family of the woman who started the blaze told FOX6 they believed it was because of an earlier fight she had with her boyfriend who lived in the house, but was not home at the time of the incident.

The suspect's family said they had been in contact with the women and have urged her to turn herself into authorities.

Neighbour Robert Neylon said the community were shocked after the incident.

"He didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve that," Neylon said.