Volunteer firefighter accused of starting house fire in Morehead

MOREHEAD, Ky. ( FOX 56 ) — A Montgomery County volunteer firefighter has been accused of setting fire to an abandoned home.

Kentucky State Police received a report of “possible arson” around 12:50 a.m. on Thursday on the 3000 block of Open Fork Road. According to authorities, the home had been “vacant for years” and wasn’t hooked up to electricity.

When state police contacted the original caller, they told troopers that 21-year-old Edward Stephens allegedly contacted them on Facebook Messenger and asked them to report the fire because it would look “suspicious” if he did.

Stephens was a volunteer firefighter at the Montgomery Fire Station, per court documents, and had reported three fires in the past year. He allegedly asked the caller to not disclose his identity and proceeded to delete the Facebook message.

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Stephens denied his involvement in the fire to troopers, but KSP said that his wife claimed that they had been in the area of the fire that night and that he allegedly set the fire with lighter fluid.

He was arrested and charged with second-degree arson.

Stephens was lodged in the Rowan County Detention Center on a $10,000 bond.

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