A West Valley City man was charged Thursday with trying to burn down his house in order to kill his wife and their four children.

Sergio Zambrano-Hernandez, 38, was charged with five counts of attempted criminal homicide, a first-degree felony, as well as one count of attempted aggravated arson, a second-degree felony.

According to the charges, on June 25, Zambrano-Hernandez told his wife that he was going to burn down the house, and kill her and the children.

"The defendant retrieved a container of gasoline and poured it on their vehicle," the charges state. "The defendant entered the house, opened the door to the furnace, and poured the gas into the furnace. The defendant then began lighting matches near the furnace."

The wife and all of the children were in the house at the time, according to the charges.

The couple's oldest child, 17, told police that she entered the kitchen as Zambrano-Hernandez walked away from the furnace. At that point, prosecutors say Zambrano-Hernandez then threw gas on her.

The mother and the children all ran from the house at that point.

Police responding to the area observed matches near the furnace and on the kitchen floor and noted a strong odor of gasoline in the house, the charges state.

Zambrano-Hernandez's bail is currently set at $1 million.

— Ethan Thomas