ROUSES POINT - A northern New York man is in jail after police say he assaulted his wife and then set their house on fire with three children still inside.

State police say 35-year-old Scott Palmer was charged with second-degree assault following Saturday night's incident at his home in the village of Rouses Point, on the Canadian border 160 miles north of Albany.

Investigators say Palmer hit his wife Marcy with a blunt object and then poured gasoline throughout the home and ignited a fire.

Mary Palmer and her three children - including Scott Palmer's 3-year-old son - escaped uninjured.

The wife was treated for jaw and knee injuries suffered during the assault.

Palmer ran from the scene and was captured nearby.

Officials say the home was gutted by the fire.