WV firefighter arrested in fire hurting fellow Berkeley Co. volunteer. Blackford charged with arson. Baker Heights' Ayers still critical.
The barn that burned Tuesday night in Berkeley County, West Virginia is only 100 to 150 yards from the Bedington firehouse. The West Virginia State Fire Marshal's office says that is no coincidence. They believe Bedington volunteer James Luther Blackford II left that firehouse, set the blaze and then went back to the station to wait for the call to be dispatched.
But it was more than property lost in that fire. A volunteer firefighter from the Baker Heights VFD is in critical condition, facing a long recovery from head and facial injuries. 45-year-old Kenneth Ayers is expected to undergo surgery on Monday at the Washington Hospital Center. Firefighter Ayers was hit by a large timber from the burning barn. Blackford suffered an injured ankle during the collapse of the barn's roof.
Here are excerpts from WHAG-TV's article:
Police say Blackford admitted his part in the fire.
Police say they do not think Blackford acted alone.
Kenny Lemaster, Sheriff of Berkeley County said, “We have another person of interest we're trying to locate and review and if we give you every thing we know of that person, that person may know it too”
Even though police say they've got their man in the barn fire they have not tied it to the string of other suspicious fires that have swept the county over the past month.
Excerpts from Herald Mail article by Schotz:
Bedington Fire Chief Tom Newcomb said Blackford has been with his department for about three years. Blackford was suspended pending the outcome of the criminal investigation.
Blackford was charged with first-degree arson, setting a fire on another’s land and causing injuries during an arson fire, all felonies.
He was being held Saturday night in the Eastern Regional Jail. As of 8:45 p.m., he still was awaiting arraignment by a Berkeley County magistrate.
Cook said the investigation into the string of arson fires picked up when Ayers was critically injured. He said authorities heard conflicting statements from people they interviewed Wednesday.
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