COLUMBUS, Ohio — In Ohio, a troubling case of arson perpetrated by a former fire department dispatcher and police officer has come to a legal resolution. James A. Bartels, previously associated with the Greenfield Township Volunteer Fire Department, in Gallia County, faced severe accusations from the U.S. Forestry Service for setting multiple fires within Wayne National Forest. This string of incidents, which began in the spring of 2022, involved over 40 suspected wildfires, devastating approximately 1,300 acres of federal and state land.
Court documents revealed that Bartels set these fires under the guise of providing activity for his colleagues and as a distraction from his depression. His actions placed the public and responding firefighters from multiple jurisdictions at significant risk. The fires necessitated a response from more than 100 firefighters from several states, accruing over $638,000 in expenditures for the U.S. Forest Service.
Bartels’s troubling activities were first suspected after law enforcement observed his truck near the forest shortly before a fire was reported on October 29, 2022. His resignation from the Greenfield Township Volunteer Fire Department on November 8 did not end the spree, as he continued to set fires, with at least 17 more occurring post-resignation.
Ultimately, data from Bartels’s truck’s infotainment system and his own admission solidified the case against him. He was arrested in December 2022 and, after pleading guilty in September 2023. Bartel was sentenced in federal court in Columbus, to 18 months in prison. Additionally, he was ordered to pay $638,000 in restitution and to register through the Ohio Arson Registry.