A 60-year-old man faces arson charges after a fire was set beneath a Knoxville pedestrian bridge, authorities said. WVLT reported that firefighters from the Knoxville Fire Department (KFD) rushed to the scene in the 2700 block of Broadway shortly after 2 p.m. yesterday, where they encountered flames consuming a heap of clothes and debris.
The Assistant Chief of the KFD, Mark Wilbanks, described the suspect leading to an arrest at a fire beneath a pedestrian bridge, stating that the conflagration presented a safety hazard and inflicted damage on the city-owned structure. He confirmed that "the fire involved a significant amount of clothing and debris," compromising the bridge's integrity. Knoxville Fire Investigators were able to apprehend Timothy Wayne Penten on the back of descriptions furnished by two eyewitnesses, as WATE detailed in their coverage of the incident.
Penton, whose identity was released by officials, was charged with one count of arson of personal property and is currently being held at the Knox County Detention Facility, as per WVLT. "Knoxville Fire Investigators located two witnesses that provided descriptions of a suspect leading to the arrest of 60-year-old Timothy Wayne Penten," Assistant Chief Wilbanks said, as the investigation by KFD continues.
