MARTINSBURG, W.Va. (AP) -- A volunteer firefighter in Berkeley County is being accused of setting a fire that seriously injured another firefighter.
Sheriff Kenneth M. Lemaster Jr. said 30-year-old James Luther Blackford II was charged Saturday with first-degree arson, setting fire on another's land and causing injuries during an arson.
Kenneth Ayers of the Baker Heights Volunteer Fire Department fractured several facial bones when part of a wall fell on him while fighting Tuesday's barn fire. He is scheduled for surgery Monday at Washington Hospital Center in D.C.
The state Fire Marshal's Office is investigating 11 suspicious fires in Berkeley County since early March.
Blackford was being held Sunday at Eastern Regional Jail.
It was not clear whether he has secured an attorney.
More on STATter911.com: Bedington's Blackford charged with arson. Baker Heights' Ayers stil...
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Information from: The (Hagerstown, Md.) Herald-Mail,
http://www.herald-mail.com
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