Arrest Made in Connection with Pembroke Fire

The Office of Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner John F. King announced today that an arrest has been made in connection with an incendiary fire that occurred at 217 Burkhalter Street in Pembroke on Monday, November 16. Cecil R. Sparkes, the prime suspect, was charged on November 23.

“Mr. Sparkes was arrested by officials in Bryan County for theft and taken to the Bryan County Jail on November 19,” said Commissioner King. “Our investigators interviewed him in connection with the Pembroke fire the next day, and he was ultimately charged with Criminal Damage to Property in the 2nd Degree.”

Mr. Sparkes was on probation at the time of the incident and is now being held by the Bryan County Sheriff’s Office without bond. Commissioner King’s State Fire Investigations Unit assisted the Pembroke Fire Department, Pembroke Police Department, and Bryan County Sheriff’s Office with this case.

State officials reported in a previous release that a 13-year-old boy had been taken to the Burn Center in Augusta in connection with a fire caused by Mr. Sparkes. That child has now been released and is recovering.