A former fire department administrator and police officer has been sentenced for starting more than 20 fires in the Wayne ...

GALLIA COUNTY, Ohio (WCHS) — A former Gallia County, Ohio, fire department worker and police officer was sentenced to prison Monday for starting dozens of fires in Wayne National Forest ...

James Bartels, a former 911 dispatcher in southeast Ohio, admitted to starting dozens of fires to "give the boys something to do." ...

Bartels, 52, of Rio Grande, Ohio, said he started 26 fires in Wayne National Forest in 2022 to “give ... more than 1,300 acres of federal and state land were burned and more than 100 ...

James Bartels was sentenced to 18 months in prison for sparking 26 fires in Wayne National Forest, prosecutors announced on Monday.

A former southeastern Ohio fire department administrator will serve 18 months in federal prison after admitting to starting dozens of wildfires in Wayne National Forest. U.S. District Court Judge ...

The series of blazes in 2022 scorched about 1,300 acres of land and prompted a costly ... both intentionally and mistakenly. In Ohio's Wayne National Forest, court records said more than 40 ...

In December, investigators spoke with Bartels and he admitted to starting 26 fires in the Wayne National Forest ... of federal and state land were burned, and the U.S. Forest Service incurred ...