GRANITE FALLS – A man was arrested Thursday for obstructing firefighters at the scene of a fire that destroyed a Granite Falls home.
The Granite Falls Police Department reported that Charles Adam Howell, 27, was taken into custody at the fire scene and is in the Yellow Medicine County Jail pending charges of obstructing firefighting, disorderly conduct and damage to property.
Officers with the Police Department were the first to reach house fire reported at 4:48 p.m. Thursday at 1096 Seventh Street in Granite Falls. Officers found the main level of the home engulfed in flames.
Granite Falls Fire Department members were actively fighting the fire when the suspect walked onto the property and allegedly began to interfere with the firefighting efforts, according to information from the Police Department. Law officers attempted to escort him off the property, but he allegedly resisted. He was placed under arrest for interfering with firefighters and disorderly conduct.
He is also being charged with damage to property for an incident minutes before he arrived at the fire scene. A witness allegedly observed him puncture the tire on a vehicle located just a couple of blocks from the fire scene.
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Granite Falls Police Chief Brian Struffert said firefighters remained at the fire scene until about 7 p.m. The home was a loss. The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Granite Falls Police Department and State Fire Marshal's office. The police were assisted at the scene by the Yellow Medicine County Sheriff's Office, Granite Falls Ambulance Serivce, and State Fire Marshal's office.
