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Sinclairville man charged with arson in Dewittville fire

DEWITTVILLE — A Sinclairville man has been remanded to jail on a second-degree arson charge following a fire that destroyed a home late Sunday.

Fletcher Walters III, 27, was arraigned Tuesday after the blaze was reported at 5728 Hartfield-Centralia Road in the town of Chautauqua.

Walters was charged with the class B felony following an investigation by the Chautauqua County Criminal Investigations division. He was taken through Central Arraignment at the Chautauqua County Jail and remanded on $150,000 bail.

Two adults and two children escaped injury after the fire at the Hartfield-Centralia Road home.

Volunteer firefighters from several area departments were called at about 11:20 p.m. after Chautauqua County sheriff’s deputies had already been responding to an harassment complaint in the area.

Crews were on scene for several hours, and were called back around 5:30 a.m. Monday after the fire rekindled.

In all, firefighters from Dewittville, Maple Springs, Ellery Center, Hartfield, Mayville, Sherman, Stockton and Ashville responded late Sunday.

County EMS, fire coordinators and the Fire Investigation Team were also called.

The home was completely destroyed in the fire. What was left standing was knocked down to safety concerns, said Capt. Rich Telford of the fire investigation team.

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