Suspect arrested in Hinton fire

By Amelia A. Pridemore
Register-Herald Reporter

July 25, 2008 11:17 pm

— A Hinton man has been charged with setting a trash bin on fire outside the city’s hospital, and authorities say they are questioning him about a string of recent arsons in the city.
Joseph Michael Brown, 28, was arrested around 4 p.m. Friday on Greenbrier Drive, assistant state fire marshal Scott Rodes said. Brown was charged with third-degree arson. He was being held at Southern Regional Jail with an arraignment pending.
At 3:50 a.m. Friday, a 7-by-14-foot trash bin on Summers County Appalachian Regional Hospital’s property was set on fire, Rodes said. The burning bin was located less than 20 yards from a large oxygen tank, making the fire especially hazardous. The bin was about 200 yards from the hospital’s building.
However, fire was contained to the bin, where all contents were destroyed, Rodes said.
Through a joint investigation by the Hinton Police Department and state fire marshal’s office, Brown was identified as the one who set the fire, Rodes said. Witnesses placed Brown at the hospital at that time, and surveillance footage showed him setting it. Brown was alone.
Hinton residents have remained on edge after a string of recent arsons in the city. Friday’s fire is believed to be the city’s ninth arson since December. The last reported arson was May 25 at an unoccupied house on Eighth Avenue.
Rodes said Brown was being questioned about the other arsons, but he declined to elaborate.
— E-mail: apridemore@register-herald.com