Polk County high school teacher arrested after backyard fire grows to 5 acres, deputies say

POLK COUNTY, Fla. – A high school teacher in Polk County was arrested Sunday after he set a fire in his backyard that grew to be 5 acres, according to sheriff’s officials.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office responded to Cox Road in Bartow, where firefighters were fighting a fire.

Brian Webster, 57, told deputies he was burning cardboard boxes and other materials inside an old refrigerator and had monitored the fire until he thought it was no longer a threat, officials said…

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