Man accused of starting fire at college

ELYRIA, Ohio (AP) — A small college remained closed Friday because of a basement fire that caused smoke damage to nearly every building on campus, and officials were uncertain when classes would resume.

Police arrested a 24-year-old man and accused him of starting Wednesday’s fire that destroyed a fiber-optic cable network at Lorain County Community College, part of at least $1 million in damage.

Drew Manns was arraigned Friday in Elyria Municipal Court on a charge of aggravated arson. He asked the court to appoint an attorney to represent him, and a judge set bond at $2 million.

Authorities haven’t discussed a motive in the case.

Manns, who has a criminal history that includes convictions for receiving stolen property and burglary, was on campus for a high school GED class, officials said. He was not enrolled at the community college.

The college turned over surveillance tapes to police, said Marcia Ballenger, the school’s vice president of strategic and institutional development.

President Roy Church said it remained uncertain if the school, about 25 miles west of Cleveland, would reopen Monday.

The fiber-optic cable network supplies Internet, telephone and other communications services throughout the campus. But the school’s electronic records are safe, and no files were compromised or destroyed, Church said.

The college used a siren, public address announcements and text messages to students to evacuate the campus after the fire broke out in the basement of the school’s Business Building.