SISSONVILLE, W.Va. — Kanawha County volunteer firefighters were told to let a house burn for a while Sunday night until sheriff’s deputies could secure the scene.
A house on Galena Road in Sissonville was destroyed in an arson fire, deputies said.
The scene had to be secured first because the call came in to 911 as a domestic dispute that resulted in the fire. Deputies began looking for Nathan Oxley, 35, of Sissonville, who had allegedly been fighting with a man over his girlfriend.
“Once they (deputies) were able to secure the immediate area and assess the victims, they were able to get the fire department in and start working the fire,” Kanawha County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Sgt. Brian Humphreys said. “It was pretty clear from statements there that this was arson, this was deliberate.”
The criminal complaint alleged Oxley beat Edward McGraw because McGraw told Oxley’s relatives he had been fighting with his girlfriend. Oxley also allegedly said he would burn the house down.
The state Fire Marshal’s Office ruled the fire an arson. It took deputies and K-9 units two hours to find Oxley, Humphreys said.
“They started searching the woods…they did detain him overnight.”
Oxley, who allegedly had a large knife during the domestic dispute, is charged with arson, domestic assault, two counts of destruction of property and two counts of domestic battery. He’s being held in the South Central Regional Jail.
“This was a great danger not only to the people that live there and were there, but also to the surrounding community,” Humphreys said. “It could have been a lot worse but it was a shame that it happened at all.”