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Crime & Justice

‘Depressed’ Fire Dept. Dispatcher Admitted Setting 24 Wildfires, Feds Say

WELL, OK THEN

James Bartels, of the Greenfield Township Volunteer Fire Department, said he started the fires “to give the boys something to do,” according to a criminal complaint.

Justin Rohrlich

Justin Rohrlich

Reporter

Published Dec. 20 2022 4:22PM EST

Screen_Shot_2022-12-20_at_4.12.09_PM_gujpl1 — Wayne National Forest/Wikimedia Commons

A raging wildfire that last month torched some 1,300 acres of national parkland in Ohio was the handiwork of a down-in-the-dumps emergency responder who did it to keep local firefighters from getting bored, according

Justin Rohrlich

Justin Rohrlich

Reporter

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