Iowa firefighter charged with 13 counts of arson after allegedly setting fires before extinguishing them

A 60-year-old firefighter accused of setting “a string of arson fires” in northern Iowa has been arrested on 13 counts of arson and one count of reckless use of fire or explosives, authorities said Friday. Kendall Rhoads, of Grundy Center, is accused of setting a series of fires in ditches next to corn fields, as well as “some buildings on abandoned properties,” the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office said in a Friday news release. After setting the fires, he would “respond with the fire department and assist in putting the fires out,” authorities said. Rhoads, who has been with the fire department...