Charges filed in Choteau apartment fire, community rallies around victims
May 5—A not-guilty plea was entered Tuesday on behalf of a man facing arson and criminal endangerment charges in connection with an
The plea for
Jackson is accused of lighting a flame in a room of his apartment that was "saturated with propane gas, causing an explosion, destroying the building and risking serious bodily injury to others."
The maximum penalty for the arson charge is 20 years in prison and a
He was arrested by
There was an explosion reported to 9-1-1 at
He later told investigators he was feeling suicidal, according to court documents.
The building was evacuated after attempts to use a fire extinguisher to control the blaze failed. Officials said Jackson was standing outside of the front door of the apartment and had to be moved out of the way.
"The apartment building was consumed by fire," the
It noted that all tenants in the building at the time of the explosion were evacuated with minor injury. But all contents, including pets still in the building, were destroyed. The fire displaced 24 residents, two of whom were taken to the hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, the
Court documents state that
Larson found a propane cylinder in the area of the defendant's apartment.
Kraft reported that Jackson told him he had been depressed and suicidal but had not intended to hurt anyone. He reportedly confirmed that he caused the fire but was "reluctant" to provide details.
The fire has brought an outpouring of support from the community to the victims.
There were 49 donors listed on a GoFundMe page (https://gofund.me/a473be56) that raised
Students in kindergarten through sixth grade raised
He called the enthusiasm "amazing," saying it exceeded the previous 10-15 penny wars the school has held over nearly two decades.
"This hit our kids," he said, adding that a student was among those displaced by the fire. "It was one of their classmates. It became real."
Gameon said the student council president approached him the day after the fire and asked to do a penny war. It was followed by a meeting of the student council.
"It just illustrates the kids and the families in our community," he said. "It's just another opportunity to learn the values we want our kids to have."
Assistant editor
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