A man is now facing charges after authorities claim his disposal of cigarette butts led to a brush fire in the Halls community, burning several acres of land. Michael Wayne Ramsey Jr., 49, was charged with burning personal property following the fire on February 20 off Mynatt Road near Maynardville Highway. After Ramsey was spotted by a bystander, a property owner was alerted to the blaze enveloping the land and observed Ramsey in a 15-foot metal tree stand, surrounded by flames at the base, as reported by WATE.
The landowner's efforts to get Ramsey to descend were in vain as he reportedly refused to leave the tree stand. According to a statement obtained by WATE, it was after this refusal that the victim called 911, bringing in the Rural Metro Fire Department and Knox County Sheriff’s Office. Regardless of the burgeoning inferno, the narrative from the court documents stated that the man did not know Ramsey.
When questioned by officers at the scene, Ramsey allegedly claimed to be dealing with "domestic issues with his wife and was having suicidal thoughts," which led to him smoking cigarettes and dropping the butts onto dried leaves, inadvertently starting the fire. WBIR reports that Ramsey admitted to igniting the fire and made no attempts to put it out.
Meanwhile, another fire-related incident unfolded in West Knoxville as Rural Metro Fire crews responded to a house fire on Wednesday evening. The fire, which initiated from the fireplace, was quickly contained to one room with no reported injuries, as detailed by WATE.
