Couple’s disabled child OK after police officer’s rescue
By Evie Blad
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
ROGERS, Ark. — What started as a marital argument ended Tuesday when a man set fire to his home with his disabled daughter inside, police said.
Police responded to a domestic dispute call at 11:27 a.m. from a pedestrian, who saw Brenda Dodson walking away from her house at 1220 W. Pine St. after being struck in the head by her husband, Charles Dodson, 50, said Lt. Mike Johnson, Rogers police spokesman.
As off icers questioned Brenda Dodson, they saw Charles Dodson standing on the porch, saying something indiscernible and holding a 2-gallon gasoline container, Johnson said.
Charles Dodson yelled that his daughter was in the house before he went back inside.
Officers knocked on the door and heard Charles Dodson yelling followed by the sound of an explosion and another person screaming, Johnson said.
Upon seeing flames in the doorway, Rogers police patrolman Brad Abercrombie ran inside to rescue the disabled girl, who uses a wheelchair. Officers then pulled an unwilling Charles Dodson from the porch.
The dispute’s cause remained under investigation Tuesday afternoon, Johnson said.
“There were calls here in the past,” he said. “This is a home that police are familiar with.” Ambulance personnel transferred Brenda Dodson and the girl, who is a minor, to Mercy Medical Center in Rogers.
A handcuffed Charles Dodson, complaining of injuries, was also transported to the hospital, Johnson said. After his release from Mercy he will be transferred to the Benton County sheriff ‘s office for a bond hearing on charges of battery, endangering the welfare of a minor and arson. Other charges may be filed, pending further investigation, Johnson said.
Both adults were listed in stable condition Tuesday afternoon, and the girl was treated and released shortly after her arrival, Mercy spokesman Kyle Weaver said.
Firefighters had the blaze under control shortly after arriving at the 1,400-square-foot home, where they responded with three fire engines, a rescue unit and two ambulances, deputy fire chief Allen Skogen said.
“I’d say we had it out within 10 minutes,” he said.
One firefighter was transported to Mercy when an unknown chemical substance irritated his face, Skogen said.
The three were the only known occupants of the home, and the extent of the damage was not fully determined, he said.
The couple filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy Dec. 5 after previously filing March 3, according to Benton County records.
The f ire caused visible damage to most of the home, burning through walls, charring surfaces with smoke and melting holes in its light blue vinyl siding.
A pine tree decorated with Christmas beads stood in the yard, where officers continued their investigation.
David O’Neill, who lived next door to the Dodsons, said the couple wasn’t known for loud or public disputes.
“The most I’ve known of them is a conversation in the yard or letting them borrow my lawnmower,” he said.
Copyright 2008 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette