Iowa Firefighter Charged With Setting Barn Fires

A volunteer firefighter has been arrested and charged with setting barn fires in the Ames area and is a suspect in a Boone County fire that killed 12 horses.

The Story County sheriff's office said 19-year-old Brett Graham, of Kelley, has been charged with three counts of second-degree arson. He is being held in the Story County jail on $30,000 bond.

The sheriff's office said Graham, who is a volunteer firefighter with the Kelley Fire Department, was arrested late Thursday after he was seen leaving the scene of a barn fire near Kelley.

The sheriff's office said Graham admitted to setting the fire, along with several others in Story and Boone counties, including Story County on Oct. 5, 2012 and on Jan. 17.

State Fire Marshal Ray Reynolds said Graham also is a suspect in at least one barn fire in Boone County in which 12 horses were killed. No charges have been filed in that case and the investigation is continuing, Reynolds said.

The fire Thursday destroyed a barn that contained a recreational climbing facility that included a maze, free-climbing and harness climbing equipment.

A damage estimate was not immediately available, Reynolds said.

Nobody was in the building at the time, but people in the area identified a vehicle seen leaving the area, he said.

The fire was set late Thursday afternoon, which Reynolds said was unusual for arsons.

"Usually arsons are associated with a crime of the night, however sometimes people get comfortable with the environment and do things for different reasons," Reynolds said.

He said Graham "has been a suspect for some time," in the fires.

Reynolds declined to say how the fires were set or what Graham's motive may have been.

"The only thing I can say is that in talking with him, it was never his intention to hurt anyone," Reynolds said. "He's been very cooperative and understands the gravity of the situation, and what it's done to his reputation, his family's reputation and the fire department's reputation."

He said that Graham "has a lot of personal things going on his his life," but declined to elaborate.

There is no indication someone else was working with Graham to set the fires, Reynolds said.

Reynolds said investigators are continuing to investigate other fires in the region to see if there is a link to Graham.

One of those is a fire southwest of Boone that killed 23 lambs earlier this month, but "we're not sure (Graham) is connected though," Reynolds said.

"We've pulled every fire record in a 20-mile radius of the area and looking at all options," Reynolds said.

He said he expected additional charges out of Boone County to be filed later in the day.

Graham made his initial court appearance in Story County District Court in Nevada Friday morning.

The public defender's office was appointed to represent Graham, but an official there said they had not yet received paperwork from the court and could not comment.

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