This is “Arson Awareness Week” in Iowa.  John Ticer, a special agent in the Iowa Fire Marshal’s Office says “There’s very rarely a week that goes by that we don’t have an arson fire somewhere results in a lot of property damage.”  According to Ticer, “Fires actually cause more damage in any given year than all the other natural disasters combined, and arson represents a significant amount of that.”

Last year, 36 percent of the fires Ticer and the rest of the staff in the Iowa Fire Marshal’s Office investigated were determined to be intentionally set. One of the goals for “Arson Awareness Week” is to encourage the public to report specific activity. “A significant number of our fires, when we solve them, are actually attributed to the public’s help that we get, just like any other crime, but our crime is more difficult than others to prove,” Ticer says. “Unlike a lot of other crimes where you’re got a knife or a gunshot wound that’s manifested right away, oftentimes the crime of arson isn’t noted until sometimes hours, days or weeks later.”

The Iowa Fire Marshal’s Office is hoping to get the public’s help in solving some “cold” cases.”A lot of our evidence gets destroyed in the process of the fire, so it makes our cases much more difficult sometimes,” Ticer says, “and so when the public comes forward and helps on these cases, it just makes our job that much easier — and easier to prove in court.” Arson fires caused an estimated two-and-a-half MILLION dollars worth of property damage in Iowa last year.

Ticer says some of that is insurance fraud, but there are a variety of other causes for arson fires, including revenge. “Those are actually our most deadly fires,” Ticer says. “We’ve investigated a number of fires over in southwest Iowa over the years that have involved fatalities that are caused by the spite/revenge fires…We always have fires that are the result of bad drug deals or people who are high on an illegal narcotic at any given time who may not be thinking clearly and then, yes, we do every year have fires that are related to people who just simply like fires.”

State officials like Ticer urge parents of children who seem to have a compulsion to set fires to get those kids into treatment, so they don’t turn into pyromaniacs as adults. “As adolescents, their fires will be relatively small,” Ticer says. “When they move into their adulthood, those fires will continue to get bigger and bigger and eventually affect whole communities through the setting of actual buildings on fire.”

State and local authorities say a kid with a cigarette lighter set the fire that destroyed a sale barn in Stuart last month.

(Radio Iowa)

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 2:40 a.m. CDT

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — The University of Iowa dental school is apologizing for accidentally exposing more than 100 child patients to potentially unsafe levels of nitrous oxide. The school says 124 patients who underwent procedures at its pediatric dentistry clinic between March 1 and April 20 face an “extremely small risk” of suffering any health effects. A school official says the university is unaware of what any long-term effects would be, but that it wanted to be cautious, nonetheless.

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Prosecutors say DNA and surveillance video prove a Pittsburgh man robbed and killed his neighbors _ two sisters of an Iowa state lawmaker. But the attorney for 45-year-old Allen Wade says he’s the victim of a “sloppy investigation” and a rush to judgment. Wade faces the possible death penalty if convicted of killing Sarah and Susan Wolfe inn February 2014, the sisters of Democratic Iowa state Rep. Mary Wolfe.

MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — A 24-year-old man has died in a Mason City house fire that was started by unattended food cooking on a stove. Mason City Fire Department officials say Ackhasenh Cavan died as a result of the accidental Sunday morning blaze. Firefighters found Cavan outside the house when they arrived. He was given medical aid before being taken to a Mason City hospital, where he was declared dead.

STRAWBERRY POINT, Iowa (AP) — Officials say two students have been taken to a hospital after an eastern Iowa school bus was involved in a crash. The crash happed just before 8 a.m. Monday on Iowa Highway 3, west of Strawberry Point. Starmont School officials say a car driven by a student crashed into the back of the bus carrying 35 students. The driver of the car and a student on the bus were hospitalized.

The Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office reports last Wednesday, March 27th, Deputy Kent Gries was awarded the “Commissioner’s Special Award for Excellence in Traffic Safety” with regards to his efforts in reducing impaired drivers and promoting traffic safety on Guthrie County’s roads. The award was presented to Deputy Gries at the 26th annual Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau Conference in Okoboji, by Roxann M. Ryan, Commissioner of the Iowa Department of Public Safety and Patrick Hoye, Bureau Chief of the Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau.

Dep. Kent Gries (2014 file photo)

Over 250 law enforcement officers attended this year’s conference.  Accompanying Deputy Gries were Chief Deputy Bennett and Sheriff Arganbright.  The Iowa Department of Public Safety annually recognizes outstanding contributions to traffic safety based on commitment and service provided beyond routine duties, creativity of approach, and effectiveness of a traffic safety program or campaign in 2015.

The following citation was read aloud while Deputy Gries received his award,

“In 2015, Deputy Gries led the Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office with 90 arrests including 10 felony arrests, 32 OWIs, and 50 drug arrests – which included 19 drug impaired drivers.   He has amassed over 200 drug arrests in the last 4 years.  He issued 18 citations for open containers or minors in possession.   He issued citations or arrested 26 unlicensed drivers, issued 183 traffic citations and 334 warnings.  He provides leadership to younger deputies by practicing field sobriety tests with them and he has handed over his own OWI stops and assisted them to help the less experienced deputies to gain confidence.  He started and administers a Facebook page that has gained to 2,000 followers since it started in 2015.  He developed and implemented a citizen’s academy.  He donated his own time and money to get the 7-night/21-hour class off the ground.  The class was well received and more are planned including one for high school students.  Deputy Gries is the essence of dedication.”

The Shelby County Emergency Management Agency reports a culvert replacement project over an unnamed tributary of the West Fork of the west Nishnabotna River, will result in the closure of Shelby County Street F-16 and Crawford County Yale Avenue, and 280th Street. The closures affects Greeley Township, Section 6, and Crawford County Nishnabotna Township, Section 31.

Portions of those roads are expected to be closed for about 4-weeks, effective today (May 2nd).

A man wanted for Revocation of Probation was arrested this (Monday) morning, at the Page County Courthouse. 39-year old Jeffrey Wade Bartles, of rural Blanchard, was arrested at around 10-a.m. and was unable to post a $5,000 cash bond. Bartles was being held at the Page County Jail pending further court proceedings.

Jeffrey Bartles

(12-p.m. News)