COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — A former fire official has been sentenced to prison for intentionally setting several fires in a national forest in Perry County. 

James A. Bartels, 52, of Rio Grande, Ohio, said he started 26 fires in Wayne National Forest in 2022 to “give the boys something to do” and to distract himself from depression. 

According to court documents, more than 1,300 acres of federal and state land were burned and more than 100 firefighters from several states responded to battle the fires, costing more than $638,000. 

At the time of the fires, Bartel was an administrator with the Greenfield Township Volunteer Fire Department; he also served as a police officer at different law enforcement agencies across the state and as a 911 dispatcher in Gallia County. 

Court records state that an Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) officer saw a truck registered to Bartels near Wayne National Forest on Oct. 29, 2022, and that within an hour, a fire was reported near where Bartels was seen. 

Bartels resigned from the Gallia County 911 department on Nov. 8, 2022; within days, at least 17 fires were reported. On two separate occasions, Bartels was seen at two locations within minutes of when multiple fires were reported, court records state. 

He was arrested in December 2022 and pleaded guilty in September 2023.  

Bartels was sentenced on Feb. 7 to 18 months in prison, $638,000 in restitution, and he must register with the Ohio Arson Registry.