A man was arrested on Wednesday after he burst into a building where a member of the Danville, Va., City Council was working, doused him with a flammable liquid and set him on fire, the police said.

The Danville police said in a statement that the city councilman, Lee Vogler, 38, had been airlifted to a regional medical center for treatment and that it was not immediately clear how seriously he had been hurt.

The police said they had arrested Shotsie Michael Buck Hayes, 29, of Danville, in connection with the attack. Information about charges would be released soon, they said.

“Based on the investigation at the time of this release, the victim and the suspect are known to each other and the attack stems from a personal matter not related to the victim’s position on Danville City Council or any other political affiliation,” the police said. This is a developing story.