COLUMBUS, OH – A former fire department administrator and police officer has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for setting 26 fires in Wayne National Forest, causing extensive damage and endangering lives.
James A. Bartels, 52, of Rio Grande, Ohio, admitted to igniting the fires in 2022, which burned approximately 1,300 acres of federal and state land. The fires required a response from more than 100 firefighters across multiple states and cost the U.S. Forest Service more than $638,000 to contain.
At the time of the incidents, Bartels was an administrator for the Greenfield Township Volunteer Fire Department and had previously served as a police officer and 911 dispatcher in Ohio.
Investigators from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources linked Bartels to the fires after spotting his truck near Wayne National Forest on October 29, 2022—just before a fire was reported in the area. In the days following his November 8, 2022, resignation as a Gallia County 911 dispatcher, at least 17 more fires were set.
Authorities determined Bartels was present near multiple fire scenes just minutes before ignition, and his truck’s infotainment system confirmed his location at the time of the fires. Bartels later admitted to starting the fires with a lighter, saying he wanted to “give the boys something to do” and distract himself from depression.
Arrested in December 2022, Bartels pleaded guilty in September 2023. Along with his prison sentence, he was ordered to pay $638,000 in restitution and register with the Ohio Arson Registry.
The sentencing, announced by Kenneth L. Parker, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, was handed down on February 7 by U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley. Deputy Criminal Chief Brian J. Martinez represented the prosecution.
