A Petrolia woman is jailed on multiple charges following a house fire in Petrolia that injured three people, killed four pets and destroyed a home, according to a media release.
Janna Leigh Segler has been charged in connection with the Clay County fire and a Wichita County vehicle blaze, online jail records show.
Segler was being held Tuesday evening in the Wichita County Jail on a $20,000 bond for an arson charge in a Wichita Falls case, online jail records show.
Clay County Sheriff Sidney Horton said in a press release Tuesday that first responders went to a fire in the 100 block of North Belmont Street in Petrolia about 5 p.m. Monday. They found the structure engulfed in flames. A resident who was asleep at the time was rescued and sent to United Regional Health Care in Wichita Falls for treatment of smoke inhalation.
Horton said two volunteer firefighters were injured battling the blaze. He said one is in critical condition at in the Intensive Care Unit at URHCS.
He did not name the firefighters or which agencies they were attached to.
He said agencies from Henrietta, Petrolia, Byers, Clay County EMS, Clay County Emergency Management, and deputies from the Clay County Sheriff’s Office responded to the incident.
Horton said later on Monday his office was contacted by the Electra Police Department about a possible connection between the Petrolia fire and a woman held on arson charges in the Wichita County Jail.
The sheriff said Segler admitted in an interview to intentionally setting the Petrolia fire. He said as a result, she is charged with first degree felonies for one count of arson and two counts of aggravated assault on a public servant.
She is also charged with cruelty to non-livestock animals, a class A misdemeanor, in connection with the deaths of four pets.
Anyone charged with a crime is presumed innocent until convicted beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. A first degree felony is punishable by up to life in prison. A class A misdemeanor can result in a jail sentence of up to a year.
The arson charge in Wichita Falls stems from an incident about 5:30 p.m. Monday in which a Jeep Liberty was set on fire in the 3600 block of Call Field Road, according to allegations in a probable cause affidavit. A woman notified Electra Police that she had been a witness to the arson. Electra Police arrested Segler and brought her to the Wichita County Jail.
“This tragic event underscores the importance of community vigilance and the dedication of emergency services,” Horton said in the release. “We ask the public to keep the injured firefighters and the impacted family in their thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Woman accused of arson that injured three
Reporting by Lynn Walker, Wichita Falls Times Record News / Wichita Falls Times Record News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
