Hours after police officers arrested a suspect who allegedly set a fire and barricaded himself inside the Roseville Galleria Mall, flames are once again leaping from the roof of the shopping center.

A thick plume of black smoke can be seen for miles. Firefighters are only fighting the fire from the outside of the building because a portion of the roof has collapsed in the area of the GameStop. The mall's sprinkler system is working and had been keeping the flames at bay until around 2 p.m.

Firefighters have been kept out of the mall for hours as police apprehended the suspect and tried to analyze the contents of his backpack. Officers were getting close to determining the bag's contents when the nearby fire got too big, forcing officers to abandon their operation. Police now say that the fire may have been set by the suspect in different areas of the mall -- in the roof or in an external crawl space.

The incident began just after 10 a.m. when the suspect entered the GameStop store, which is located on the second floor between Macy's and JCPenney.

Employees at the store say the suspect, who a friend and co-worker has identified as Alexander Corney Piggee, 23,(the city of Roseville reports that his name is spelled 'Pigee') who is said to be a transient, made some incoherent remarks about his sister being held captive and ordered employees out of the store, telling them that he had a gun. None of the employees saw the gun. The man then set a fire inside the store. Witnesses tell CBS13 they saw smoke billowing out the front doors of GameStop. They then saw SWAT officers with guns drawn approach the store and order the suspect out.

At 12:15, officers captured the suspect outside the GameStop store in a corridor where he was attempting to hide, they say. Three heavily armed officers walked the hand-cuffed man out of the mall to an outside bench where they kept him for nearly an hour. The suspect was also checked out by paramedics before he was taken away in a Roseville Police patrol car.

The suspect is wearing a black hooded-sweat shirt, a purple t-shirt with the words "Pretty Boy" written in graffiti-style script on the front, a bandana tied around his neck and dark blue jeans.

Firefighters had been watching the three-alarm blaze from outside the building. The mall's sprinkler system seemed to have been keeping the fire at bay until it erupted again. SWAT officers helped escort people out of the mall and verify that is evacuated.

There had been reports of possible shots fired, but police now say that may have been a window breaking or flash bang grenades used to detain the suspect.

Officers from CHP, Placer County Sheriff's Department and fire personnel are assisting Roseville police and mall security.

The mall fire isn't the first one set by the suspect today. He allegedly also started a fire this morning at a Wal-Mart in Antelope where he worked. A co-worker and friend of the suspect said the suspect had glassy eyes and "seemed out of it." He also had luggage, which she said seemed odd. Sacramento Metro Fire Department came to the store to put the fire out. By that time, the suspect was gone.

Piggee's coworker and friend also told CBS13 that "past couple of weeks had been very hard on him." Apparently, Piggee was recently in a car accident, and had been on Oxycontin. She also said that his mother had kicked him out of the house a few months ago, and that may explain why he had luggage in his possession.

Piggee is facing charges of aggravated arson and criminal threats, police said.

Ambulances had lined up outside the mall as a precaution.

The large mall has 239 retail stores in more 1.3 million square feet.