Cumberland, MD – A 30-year-old man is facing charges after investigators say he was caught on surveillance video using a lighter to start a brush fire dangerously close to a Board of Education maintenance facility on Independence Day.

Michael Gage Butler was arrested Thursday and charged with malicious destruction of property after fire investigators linked him to the small but deliberate blaze on Market Street. Officials say the fire, set just after noon on July 4, caused approximately $1,000 in damage but was stopped before it reached nearby structures.

Firefighters from the Cumberland Fire Department responded quickly to 211 Market Street and managed to contain the flames. Thanks to the rapid response, the fire was extinguished before it could threaten the adjacent Board of Education

See Full Page