IOLA — A 19-year-old Iola firefighter has been arrested on suspicion of setting several fires that destroyed thousands of dollars in hay bales and other property in Anderson and Allen counties. The Anderson County Review reported Lee Berg was arrested at the scene of a grass fire in Allen County while he was helping other volunteer firefighters battle the blaze. He is suspected of setting at least some, if not all, of at least 28 arson fires in Allen County and one arson fire in Anderson County. That arson fire in Anderson County burned 398 big bales of hay owned by Bob Swift of rural Colony and valued at $35,800. In Allen County, one fire destroyed 250 big bales of hay valued at $25,000, another fire destroyed a vacant farmhouse and another fire damaged a bridge on the Prairie Spirit Trail. The paper reported it was not immediately known if all the fires were related or if there were other suspects. The Allen County Sheriff’s office wouldn’t say how investigators zeroed in on berg, but said technology played a significant role in the investigation and placed Berg at the scene of many of the fires when they started.
Tuesday, Sept. 20, 8 a.m.
