CFD chief can't say cause of Big Mac Bridge fire as investigation continues following arrest of 4

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati officials still can't say what started the fire that damaged the Big Mac Bridge, but four people have been arrested for their involvement.

CFD Chief Frank McKinley said because the investigation is still ongoing, he can't release too many details about what caused the fire, how it started, or any reasoning as to why it was set.

Four people were arraigned Wednesday morning in connection with the massive fire that damaged the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge, or Big Mac Bridge, according to Hamilton County court records.

Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval said the arrests are just the beginning, emphasizing that now the justice system and prosecutors have to do their jobs to hold the four accountable.

"I cannot overstate the severity of this crime," said Pureval, citing the safety issues the fire posed, the chaos it's caused, the cost of repairs and the daily frustration and disruption the ensuing traffic issues have caused those in the Tri-State.

City Manager Sheryl Long said she was "shocked and saddened" to learn the fire had been started intentionally. She also said the city has been working to ease the traffic issues caused by the closure of I-471 south; traffic signals in the downtown ares impacted have been adjusted to a maximum in Cincinnati, Covington and Newport, Long said.

She also said the city wasn't immediately looking into pulling CPD officers to help direct traffic.

James Hamilton, Terry Stiles, Zachary Stumpf and Kaitlen Hall were arrested in connection with the Nov. 1 fire at 1,000 Hands Playground in Sawyer Point Park.

Officials said none of the people arrested are homeless, despite the fire sparking a new debate about homeless encampments around Cincinnati.

WCPO asked McKinley why CFD couldn't announce they'd ruled out any involvement of a homeless encampment before the arrests were made Tuesday; he said CFD investigators weren't ruling anything out.

"I can understand that aspect of a certain part of our community feels like they've been victimized or we're blaming it on homeless encampments and that's something that the city takes very seriously and we work very hard to address that," said McKinley. "We're really trying to make sure that when we release facts that they're accurate, so we didn't rule anything out until we knew exactly what we had."

Court records show Stumpf, 23, and Stiles, 39, are facing aggravated arson charges based on video and witness statements. They are both being held at the Hamilton County Jail.

Stumpf "intentionally set a fire on a playground located under an interstate overpass," according to court records. According to court documents, Stiles also intentionally set a fire at 801 E Pete Rose Way, "creating a substantial risk of serious physical harm to all of the motorists above," including the driver of a Freightliner flatbed tow truck.

Court records show Hall and Hamilton face charges of obstructing justice after both allegedly gave misleading information to investigators about Stiles and Stumpf during officials' arson investigation. Hall and Hamilton are also currently booked at the Hamilton County Justice Center, according to jail records.

Hall "was asked questions about (Stiles') telephone number and his whereabouts" and she gave investigators false information, per court records. Another court document says she "was asked questions about her friendship of greater than six years and denied knowing (Stumpf's) last name when in fact she was aware of the information."

During Wednesday's press conference, McKinley said fire investigation officials and Cincinnati police officers went to Hall's house to arrest her, which they were able to do without any trouble. However, with the aid of drones, investigators found that Stiles and Stumpf were hiding in an attic, refusing to come out.

This led to an hours-long SWAT standoff that eventually ended in Stiles' and Stumpf's arrests; in the meantime, by 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, McKinley said Hamilton was in custody.

Hamilton, Stiles, Stumpf and Hall were all arraigned Wednesday morning.

Stiles did not appear in court. According to the court clerk, he was causing issues and was placed in a straight chair with a spit mask. The judge went over multiple prior offenses and cited Stiles as a public safety risk.

Both Stiles and Stumpf were issued a $1 million bond. They are both expected to be back in court on Dec. 17.

Both Hall and Hamilton were issued $60,000 bonds. They are scheduled to be back in court on Dec 20. Hall and Hamilton's defense attorney both said their accused crimes are just "words."

The bridge was severely damaged after the playground, located beneath the bridge, caught fire overnight and burned for hours in a blaze that was large and hot enough to warp some of the steel beams supporting the bridge.

ODOT officials have estimated the full cost of repairing the bridge will be around $10 million.

Those repairs are already well underway. Last week, ODOT said crews have completed most of the removal of the bridge's concrete deck, less than one week after demolition efforts began.

ODOT

This week, ODOT crews will begin demolition on the steel girders, which officials said will also require the same slow, "surgical" approach crews have undertaken with the concrete deck. Demolition on the bridge is expected to continue through the middle of December, ODOT said.

ODOT

Repairs to the damage on the bridge's northern lanes — including a damaged section of concrete wall on NB I-471 — are expected to begin as early as next week, with completion scheduled by the end of the year, ODOT said.

Once that damage is repaired, the single lane that's been closed on the northbound side of the bridge will be able to re-open.

In all, however, ODOT said the cost of fixing the entire bridge and getting it back into working condition will come with a price tag of "at least $10 million," according to ODOT.

ODOT will pay for the emergency repair project up front, but will pursue reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Relief Program — a move that's possible because Gov. Mike DeWine declared a state of emergency in Hamilton County in the days after the fire.

At the end of November, ODOT estimated it would take until March for all lanes on southbound I-471 across the bridge to fully open. That timeline is contingent on ODOT's current plan for custom-made steel girders order from a fabrication company that's currently expected to arrive in mid-January.

Demolition on the bridge began on Nov. 29 and ODOT spokesperson Kathleen Fuller previously said the process is expected to take roughly three weeks.

Fuller said there are three things that could possibly delay the timeline of the bridge repairs: Delivery of the steel girders, equipment and weather. Crews will be working through the winter months, but Fuller said that also means they're at the mercy of weather conditions.