Siron

VOLGA – A Barbour County volunteer firefighter has been charged with first degree arson after allegedly setting fire to an abandoned house over the weekend.

A warrant was issued for Bricen Hunter Siron, 20, on Thursday and he was transported to the Tygart Valley Regional Jail, where he is being held on a $20,000 property/surety bond.

According to the criminal complaint, prepared by James Owens, the assistant state fire marshal, Owens was called to conduct an origin and cause investigation involving a two-story residential structure fire that took place early Saturday morning on the Buckhannon Road.

The structure was a complete loss, with only fire debris remaining, according to the complaint. The home had no utilities turned on and had been empty for six years.

An investigator conducted a scene exam on Monday and reviewed video from a nearby security camera. On the footage, Siron was reportedly seen telling a neighbor that the house next door was on fire, the complaint states.

Deputies from the Barbour County Sheriff’s Office interviewed Siron at the scene of the fire and said he had given them conflicting stories, according to the complaint. Siron was at the scene as a member of the Warren District Volunteer Fire Department.

His vehicle was seen on video going back-and-forth multiple times just before the fire was reported, the complaint states. Siron then allegedly stopped and told the neighbor that the house next door was on fire before driving to the Warren District Fire Department to respond to the fire in Engine 6.

On Tuesday, investigators met with Simon for an interview at the Buckhannon Police Department and he allegedly confessed to setting the house on fire, the complaint states. Siron told investigators that he joined the Warren District VFD about a month ago, and that he hadn’t got to fight any fires yet and was “wanting some excitement.” He stated that he knew Warren District would be called first to the scene since the fire station is only a few miles away.

According to the complaint, Siron told investigators that he started the fire by lighting a brown bag – containing “a pepperoni roll wrapper and some trash” – with a Bic lighter and throwing it through a broken window into the home, where other combustibles were located on the floor.