A Batesville teen is being held on a first degree arson charge following a major fire on Panola Avenue Sunday afternoon. The 14 year old was arrested hours after the blaze, even as firefighters were extinguishing the last of the smoldering ashes.

Deputy Chief of Police Barry Thompson said the juvenile has been arrested for a variety of crimes in the past and is no stranger to local officers. Like the great majority of  juveniles arrested in Batesville and Panola County, this suspect had been released numerous times because there is no local detention center for persons under 18.

“In this case the judge ordered him held and he was taken to a juvenile facility,” Thompson said, adding that police will work with the courts in an effort to have him certified as an adult because of his history.

Located just off the Square at 109 Panola, the two story wooden structure had been unoccupied for more than two years and was being used for storage. The house was more than 50 percent involved when BFD received a call shortly before 6 p.m.

Some 33 firefighters responded to the call with three engines, the ladder truck, the rescue unit and other smaller pieces of equipment. 

“It was defensive all the way,” Chief Tim Taylor said Tuesday morning describing the fire. “Our men did a good job saving other structures and keeping the fire from transferring to more buildings than it did.”

Also destroyed in the conflagration was a large storage shop/storage building. A neighbor’s house had moderate damage that included melted siding from the heat, and the Civitan Club building had some minor exterior harm.

 Additionally, some building materials being stored in the City’s parking lot located behind Copeland’s Jewelry and to the south of Davis Family Pharmacy was damaged. Those supplies were being used by contractors currently remodeling a retail space on Public Square that will open next month as a PIzza Hut carryout and delivery location.

There were civilian injuries reported, and four firemen were treated for minor injuries (burns, pulls, and strains) at the scene. The heat index at the time was hovering around 90 degrees and firefighters were visibly exhausted after battling the blaze.

Taylor said an investigation into the source of the fire and whether traces of an accelerant were found will provide more information at a later date.

Batesville Police Department investigators, who made the arrest, believe the juvenile taken into custody is responsible for at least four other suspicious fires over the past few months, including a blaze at Jesus Loves Me Daycare recently.

Taylor said fire officials had begun to suspect a serial arsonist might be behind a few fires, but would not speculate whether the person arrested Sunday was connected.

“There were just too many fires in the neighborhood,” he said. “I was starting to wonder what building was going to be next.”