Former Macklin firefighter pleads guilty in hay bale arson case

A former Macklin firefighter has pleaded guilty to arson after lighting a hay bale on fire in a field near Macklin and Evesham last July, sparking concern throughout the community.

Last Monday, Logan Sieben pleaded guilty to the charge of arson causing property damage. He is to be sentenced in Unity on March 17.

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Sieben is also facing charges of arson with intent to defraud and theft under $5,000. Both matters will be addressed in court at his sentencing hearing.

Sieben was arrested in August after police reviewed surveillance footage related to the fire, and was subsequently let go from his position as a firefighter.

“We’re happy that (Sieben) has taken some accountability for that,” said Macklin fire chief Justin Bast.

“We’ll see how the court system works and how the rest of it plays out as he goes to court in a couple months and finishes that off.”

Because the incident involved a local firefighter, Bast said it came as “a pretty hard hit to morale,” but the community has come together to show support for its firefighters since then.

Before Sieben’s arrest, Bast said a number of fire chiefs reached out to him, pushing for him to investigate within the department.

“You don’t want to believe that it could be somebody internal, but after a little while it was pretty obvious,” he said.

Bast said you can never fully predict someone’s actions.

“I’ve known Logan since he was a little kid… our sons played hockey together,” he said.

“He was on the fire department for seven years prior to this event.”

Last summer, the RCMP said the incident was just one of a number of hay bale and grass fires that were intentionally set in the area between July 29 and August 25.

During that time, the community of Macklin offered a $3,000 reward for information leading to the discovery and apprehension of the person setting the fires.