House Fire Was Intentionally Set

A house in West Point burned to the ground Saturday in what investigators believe to be an attempted suicide.

La Grange Volunteer Fire Department got the call around 5:29 p.m. reporting a vacant house burning in the 200 block of West Point Loop

Fire Chief Frank Menefee said the house was completely engulfed when firefighters arrived. The blaze spread to some surrounding brush.

“We were pretty fortunate because one of the neighbors down the road had a bulldozer and responded real quickly,” Menefee said. “He plowed a fire line through the brush to hold the fire until we could get it under control.”

Menefee said the neighbor’s actions were instrumental in keeping the fire contained to the area around the house. La Grange VFD called for assistance from the Muldoon Fire Department, who responded to assist. The two departments worked until around 8:30 p.m. putting out the fire.

No one lived in the home, Menefee said. Sgt. Ron Naumann of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office said deputies detained a male suspect at the scene whom Naumann said admitted to starting the fire. Naumann said the suspect was mentally distressed and said he set the house on fire with himself inside in an attempt to kill himself.

Naumann said the man changed his mind and thought he had put out the fire, but it later rekindled. Naumann said the suspect walked up to investigators while the house was burning and told them what happened.

The Sheriff’s Office transported the man to a mental health facility for evaluation. Naumann said criminal charges could follow. The case remains under investigation.