Local man ordered to serve additional 6 months in jail for burning his house down

A 35-year-old Rhinelander man was ordered Monday to serve six more months in jail, to be followed by three years probation, after pleading guilty to one count of unsafe burning of own home, a Class H felony.

Chad J. Bambrough has been in custody since March 2, shortly after firefighters from several departments were called to extinguish a fire at his residence on U.S. Highway 8 in the Town of Crescent. 

According to a press release from the Oneida County sheriff’s office, a call was received at approximately 3:40 p.m. March 2 reporting the structure fire .

“Initially, it was unknown if there was anyone else in the building,” the release said. “The caller stated that there were flames 10 feet into the air.”

By the time first responders arrived, the structure was fully engulfed and deputies later determined the fire was started intentionally.

In the release, the sheriff’s department noted that deputies believed the ingestion of illegal drugs was a factor in the incident.

According to the criminal complaint, Bambrough admitted to using methamphetamine and THC in the hours before setting the fire and stated that he had been awake for several days.

Bambrough told investigators he used a lighter to light a piece of paper on fire and then sprayed it with an aerosol “to get the fire larger.”

After the fire started to take off, Bambrough said he took a bottle of olive oil and emptied it on the floor of the residence, believing it to be flammable, the complaint continues. He also said he turned on the gas stove in an attempt to strengthen the fire.

Bambrough stated his intent was to harm himself and he would never have set the fire if anyone else was present, the complaint said.

At sentencing, Oneida County assistant district attorney Mary Sowinski acknowledged Bambrough has a “lengthy trauma history” dating back to his childhood, as well as from his time in the military, but noted that his decision to set his own home on fire after using drugs to self-medicate put other people at risk.

“This could have been a horrendous tragedy for a number of families had Mr. Bambrough not gotten lucky and been able to get out of the house, despite his extensive efforts to accelerate the pace of the fire, and given the fact that he didn’t check, there was no one else in the house and no firefighters were injured in combating the fire,” she said.

“All that being said, this has to be a prison case,” she added. “You cannot put this many people at risk, even when it’s due to a history of trauma and inability to manage your own mental health problems. You cannot put this many people at risk without going to prison, even if it’s for a short period of time.”

She did not make a specific recommendation as far as length of sentence, leaving that to the discretion of the court.

Defense attorney Paul Augustyn noted it’s not against the law to burn down your own building, but there’s a safe way to do it and that’s why Bambrough was charged with a crime.

He also noted his client has already served 151 days, as he has been able to post the $25,000 cash bail set in his case, and this has resulted in 151 days of forced sobriety.

What he needs, Augustyn argued, is treatment in a confined setting. 

“I don’t know that more time in jail is going to make the difference here,” he said, noting that Bambrough has pursued treatment in the past but it has always been voluntary and he has a history of leaving early. “We believe that if he were to be placed in a setting where he can’t leave voluntarily and would get the counseling and treatment that he needs, he could be a productive member of society.”

Given his chance to speak, Bambrough stated that he knows what he did was wrong. 

“I’m really sorry for what I did. I could have hurt other people,” he said. “I could have killed myself, that’s what I was trying to do at the time. I am really, really sorry. I don’t know how to express with anymore emotion how sorry I am to the firefighters, police officer and paramedics how much of a headache I caused...”

Oneida County circuit judge Mike Bloom choose to withhold the maximum six-year prison sentence available on the Class H felony and place Bambrough on probation for three years. He also ordered 6 months conditional jail time as part of probation.

 The 151 days Bambrough has already served will be applied should his probation be revoked, an outcome Bloom said he hopes does not come to pass.

“This case calls for some form of punishment, given the potential that was not realized but that was nevertheless there, that others would be harmed as a result of the fire whether it be some of the individuals living nearby, firefighters or other public safety officials or what have you,” he said, noting that it must be made clear to Bambrough and anyone else paying attention to this case that “you can’t set your house on fire in a manner that is unsafe.”

Heather Schaefer may be reached at [email protected].