Men Charged With Arson Following Ohio Brush Fire

NEW CARLISLE, Ohio -- Two New Carlisle men face an arson charge after a brush fire they allegedly set got out of hand.

Larry Hansford, 66, and Michael Bonham, 63, were each indicted by a Clark County grand jury on a fourth-degree arson charge Monday. It stems from a March 20 fire on their properties in the 1100 block of Marquart Road.

The two men called dispatchers to inform them they intended to burn brush that day.

Several volunteer firefighters called the station after reportedly seeing heavy black smoke and a barn on fire. Crews responded, calling mutual aid from German Twp. and Christiansburg to help put out the blaze, according to the National Fire Incident Reporting System report.

"The controlled burn actually ignited a barn on (a) third person's property," said Shane Cartmill, public information officer for the Division of the State Fire Marshal.

Hansford allegedly told firefighters he set the brush on fire, but then the field and barn also caught fire. Shingles were stored in the barn, which was a total loss, according to the report.

The state fire marshal's office began investigating when the homeowner at 11676 filed an insurance claim for the barn damage. The case has been handed over to the Clark County Prosecutor's Office, Cartmill said.

Neither man has a criminal record in Clark County. Bonham could not be reached for comment. Hansford declined to speak, saying only "the case is in the courts."

An arraignment date has not been set.

Bart Mowen, who lives across the street from where the fire started, said he remembered a lot of black smoke and was concerned about the blaze until he saw crews show up.

"I didn't expect anything like this to even be happening around here," Mowen said.

Copyright 2012 - Springfield News-Sun, Ohio

McClatchy-Tribune News Service